Project: Venus
by Balambfish
Summary: With no enemies left to fight, Minako Aino sets her sights on her greatest challenge: the lonely hearts of her best friends. Over a single summer, can she nurture the love she knows is there, and maybe have some fun along the way? And will they dance to the tune she plays, or will the puppet-master be caught up in her own strings? Fluff! Smut! Drama! Project: Venus is a go!
1. Prologue

The halls of Juuban High School were unusually packed this particular lunch period, the air heavy with murmurs and chatter, punctuated by the occasional cry of joy or despair. It was entirely possible that every third year student in the school was crowded around the announcement board, though a few stood outside the throng, patiently waiting (or dreading) their turn at the results of the summer prep exam. Usagi Tsukino was one of the latter. Her palms were sweaty and she gnawed her lower lip in unconscious worry as she peered uselessly over the heads of her classmates towards the board.

"I'm 90% sure that Ami's at the top," Makoto said from beside her. Usagi looked up at her as she squinted. "The kanji in her name are easy enough to read even from back here."

"Well, that's pretty safe to assume," Minako said from Usagi's other side. She bounced on her toes, trying to match the brunette's height. "What about the rest of us?"

"I'm sad to say we don't appear to be in the top 10 or so," Makoto replied. "That's all I can see above the crowd."

"My parents will be so disappointed," Minako said drily. She squared her shoulders. "Alright, I'm going in before we spend our whole lunch break standing around here. Who's with me?"

"I'm not really hungry..." Usagi said forlornly. Her stomach felt like it was tied in knots. She turned as she felt a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"Usagi, no matter what score you get, you should be proud of how hard you've worked this year. I know I am." Ami's encouraging smile did little to ease Usagi's tension, but she couldn't help smiling back.

"I know, but..."

"C'mon, Usagi, at least save the moping until after we see our scores," Minako said. "Mako, will you do the honors?"

Makoto took a deep breath and strode forward. The crowd, perhaps sensing her determination, parted before her, leaving the three of them to scurry in her wake. She didn't push all the way to the front, but made some room for the others to stand in front of her. Before them the test results board loomed, 176 names strong. Just as predicted, Ami's name stood proudly at the top. Usagi scanned through the names, trying to pick out the 'moon' character in her name, the only one across all six of the third-year classes. She found Makoto's name instead, just a moment before she heard Makoto grunt sourly behind her. A 361 wasn't a terrible score – she would've been happy to have received it herself, in most circumstances – but Makoto apparently had hoped for better.

Usagi's eyes continued scanning down the list. She spotted Minako a little further down, at 346, and glanced over at her. Minako wrinkled her nose and made an annoyed noise, but kept her eyes fixed on the board. Usagi felt her heart sink; she and Minako were almost always neck-and-neck in grades. She let her eyes continue down the list, feeling numb. Down and down she went, and a tightness began to build in her chest as the marks got lower and lower. 300. 275. 250. She could feel pressure building in her sinuses, a friendly warning that she was about to humiliate herself even further by bursting into tears right here in the middle of the hall, in front of everyone.

"Usagi!" Minako's voice was tight with restrained excitement. "Why are you looking way down there? Look!" She jabbed at the list. Usagi looked up, and for a moment shock stole her voice.

"Three... eighty?" she managed to croak. She stared, unable to parse the number. "Is... is that..?"

"That's 76 percent!" Usagi's almost lost her balance as Ami threw her arms around her. "Oh, Usagi, you did it!"

"Alright, let's go over everything one last time."

"Mom, come on..."

Ikuko Tsukino put her hands on her hips. "One more time! Or if you'd rather not, I can have your bags packed in ten minutes."

Usagi shook her head frantically. "Okay, okay. Go ahead."

"Emergency contacts?"

"On the fridge."

"And?"

"And on my phone."

"Fire extinguisher?"

"Under the kitchen sink."

"Garbage collection?"

"Every Thursday."

"And the deal breakers are?"

Usagi fought to not roll her eyes. "No boys, no parties, no parties _with_ boys, no telling people I'm at home alone, and, uh..."

"Don't spend all the money we gave you!" her mother said firmly. "I'm serious, there had better be some left when we get back."

"I won't!" Usagi said indignantly.

"Alright, well..." her mother trailed off. Usagi saw a tear glisten in the corner of her eye, and had to swallow a sudden lump in her throat. She threw her arms around her mother and squeezed tight.

"I'll be okay, I promise," she mumbled. "Now go on, before Dad and Shingo leave you behind."

"I know you will," her mom sniffled. "But, if you have any trouble, call me or your Dad right away."

"Mooom! Let's gooooo!" Shingo called. Ikuko rolled her eyes.

"Alright, alright!" She gave Usagi a quick peck on the cheek, and hurried over to the car. Usagi waved at them until the car turned the corner at the end of the street, then dashed inside. She kicked off her shoes and, with a whoop that echoed throughout the empty house, she dove onto the couch.

It was actually happening! Three whole weeks with the entire house to herself! She could hardly believe she had actually pulled it off. Then again, it seemed easy in retrospect. She'd first gotten the idea indirectly from Minako. Her parents had left her alone for three days to while they celebrated their anniversary, and Minako had gone on for a month about how much fun it had been. So, right after Usagi's seventeenth birthday, she and Minako had put together her pitch to her parents: instead of going on their family trip to Hokkaido to visit her great-aunt, she could stay home. By herself. How it would be valuable life experience, how it would give her the chance to learn how to keep a household budget – basically anything and everything they could think of that her parents might want to hear.

They had been skeptical at first, but they had agreed (a little too readily, in her opinion) that Usagi could benefit from a taste of real responsibility. But there had been one onerous condition: that she pull her grades up and score at least a 75 on the summer preliminary exams. Usagi, who was a happy mid-60s student, had despaired, but somehow she'd pulled it off. Okay, maybe not 'somehow'… Ami had poured her heart and soul into getting Usagi ready, sacrificing altogether too much of her own precious study time to drill Usagi in marathon sessions that she frankly didn't want to remember.

And of course, even getting good grades wasn't enough. She had a list of chores a mile long, every kind of housework and yard work imaginable, not to mention her summer homework. Her mother had also carefully rationed her shopping over the last two weeks to make sure there wasn't so much as an instant ramen in the cupboards. But, there was an envelope with 50000 yen in it burning a hole in her purse, along with a budget that she and her father had gone through together three times in excruciating detail. Her mom had even dragged her out grocery shopping a few times to teach her the basics, as if she'd needed someone to tell her how to shop.

She stared at the ceiling for a few minutes, planning out her day. She would need to go shopping soon - her mom had bored it into her head that she shouldn't go grocery shopping on an empty stomach, and it was almost noon. Then lunch, obviously, but after that... she wasn't one hundred percent sure what she was going to do. Despite her parents' paranoia, she wasn't really a party person, and she certainly didn't have any boys hidden away. She gritted her teeth.

It wasn't as if she had expected Mamoru to drop everything and fly back to Japan. Not _really_. Those kinds of fantasies had slowly died off as his semester abroad became a year abroad, and then two years. He'd always done his best to make it back home whenever he could, and things were always wonderful when they were together, but this year he had already missed spring break, her birthday, and now he'd taken a co-op (whatever that was) in San Francisco, or San Jose... one of the San cities she could never keep apart in her head. That was the whole summer down the drain.

And, when she'd mentioned casually that she had three whole weeks alone to herself, and hey, wouldn't it be great if she had someone to spend it with, he'd gotten mad, accused her of trying to make him choose between her and school. And then she'd said that _she_ would choose him over school in a heartbeat, and then they were off on the same argument they always had. It used to make her mad, and then sad, but now those fights just left her feeling numb and exhausted. That had been two weeks ago, the day she got her exam results. They hadn't spoken since.

She sat up and shook her head. "I'm not going to let him ruin this for me." she announced to the empty room. She grabbed her purse from the kitchen table and strode to the front door. There was shopping to do.

That evening found Usagi curled up on the couch, fighting to pay attention to a TV drama while she picked at her dinner. Her first foray into culinary self-sufficiency had gone okay, at least by her standards. She had decided on a simple-sounding Hamburg steak and salad, mostly because ground beef had been on sale. Yes, it was a little burnt on one side, and there was definitely too much salt, but the salad had turned out great. When the credits finally rolled on her show, she stood up and brought her dishes into the kitchen. Eyeing the dirty pans sideways, she made a mental note to clean up before bed. Grinning to herself as she imagined what her mom would say to that, she danced over to the fridge. In a rare moment of self-control, she had put half a basketful of sweets back on the shelf during her shopping trip after adding up how much she could end up spending over three weeks. As a reward for her discipline, she had thought it was only fair that she pick out a single desert. She was celebrating, after all. Throwing open the fridge door, she claimed her spoils: a tasty-looking (and maybe _slightly_ expensive) tiramisu. She ate the cake out of its plastic shell while staring out the kitchen window into their tiny backyard. "What to do..." She said to herself, tapping her fork against her lips thoughtfully. Truth be told, she was already out of ideas. She'd gone shopping, made her own dinner, and taken a perfunctory stab at doing some laundry (results pending). And with night rapidly falling, it was beginning to dawn on her that she was going to be all alone tonight for the first time in her life. She'd even talked Luna into spending the night at Minako's. Not that she didn't want her around, per se, but Luna was basically mom-lite, and it would hardly be a parent-free zone with her lecturing Usagi every five minutes.

She went for another bite of her cake, only to realize it was all gone. She could barely remember tasting it. With a sigh, she tossed the empty container on the counter. "That was one percent of my budget well-spent," she grumped to the empty room. Her fingers drummed on the countertop as she gazed longingly at her phone, sitting on the kitchen table. Part of her was adamant that she spend at least one night on her own, just to say she had, but boredom and the sheer oppressive quiet of the empty house was beginning to eat at her.

Well... she could just see what everyone was doing. That didn't really count. With that happy rationalization, she scooped up her phone and pulled up Rei's name. The line was picked up almost immediately.

"Helloo-oooo?" came a cheerful voice. Usagi blinked in confusion.

"Minako? Wait, did I call the wrong number?"

"Geez, sorry to disappoint you," Minako replied with mock sarcasm. "Rei's hands are full, so I stole her phone."

"Oh... are you guys at the shrine?"

"Nope, she's at my place."

"Are you guys doing anything?" Usagi asked.

"Well, Rei's being my model for the new makeup I got today, but other than that we're just hanging out. Why?"

"Umm...," Usagi ummed. Hearing her friend's voice was rapidly weakening her resolve. "Do you guys wanna... maybe... come over for a bit?"

"Oho, empty house getting to you already?" Minako teased. "I'm sorry to say I have a date tonight. I mean, not _really_ sorry..."

Usagi gasped. "With who? Since when? Is it that guy from the train? Where are you going?"

"Ew, no. It's with Haruka," Minako said smugly.

"Oh," Usagi said, her excitement deflating. "I thought you meant a real date."

"Pff, you're just jealous."

"Yes, sooo jealous," said Usagi, who actually felt a teensy bit jealous. "Well, have fun, I guess."

"Aww, don't pout, Rei can come over once I'm done with her."

Usagi perked up. "Yeah?"

"Of course, even if she ever had plans, she'd drop them in a hot second for-" Minako's words cut out abruptly, replaced with a sharp burst of noise. Usagi could hear laughter for a moment before her voice returned. "Sorry, Rei is trying to punch me while her nails are wet and it looks hilarious. I don- Ow!" Usagi heard her say something that she couldn't quite make out. "Alright, fine, geez, here's Rei."

"Hey," Rei's voice was tight, a sure sign she was annoyed. "Sorry about that, Mina has no sense of... well, sense. What's up?"

"Do you want to come over for a bit? I'm kinda bored," asked Usagi.

"Yeah, sure! Haruka's picking Mina up soon - I'll head over then. Should I bring anything?"

"No, that's okay." With luck, Makoto could be convinced to make snacks. "See you then!"

Rei made her goodbyes, with Minako yelling hers from the background. With thoughts of cookies dancing in her head, Makoto's number was the next one she dialed.

"Hey, Usagi, what's up? Makoto's voice was strained, but she sounded chipper.

"Are you doing anything? I'm trying to get everyone over to celebrate my parents being gone."

"Oh, jeez, sorry, I already made plans," Makoto said with a grunt. "Ami and I are going to that gallery showing downtown. I'm just getting dressed."

"Oh." Usagi tried to keep the disappointment from her voice. "Right. Ami was talking about that last week... well, you guys have a good time, I'll talk to you later."

"I'm sorry, I promise we'll all get together soon, okay," Makoto apologized. "You and Rei have fun!"

"Yeah, you too." She hung up and scrolled through her contacts. Haruka and Ami were taken, apparently, Michiru was still at school in Berlin until September, and Hotaru was with Setsuna at a fashion show in China for the weekend. She let out a frustrated sigh. Suddenly, staying home alone didn't seem as exciting and mature as it had a few hours ago. At least Rei was going to make it. Speaking of which, she sent Rei a quick message:

 _chagne of plans plz bring snackcs_ ／(^x^)＼

Rei's response was a simple ' _k_ ', but it was enough to boost Usagi's spirits. She sat on the couch and turned the TV back on. The news was on, and she made a half-hearted attempt to watch it like a responsible adult would, but her eyes kept stealing over to the clock, then to the front door, and back again. An agonizing thirty minutes later, a knock on the door had her leaping out of her seat. She dashed to the entryway, took a second to straighten her clothes, and opened the door. "Good evening, welcome to my home," she said with all the grace she could muster.

Rei blinked in surprise and then giggled. "My, such a gracious invitation," she said, stepping into the house. She gazed around theatrically. "What a lovely home you have. Please, accept this humble gift," she said with a bow, proffering a small convenience store bag.

"Ooh, ice cream!" cheered Usagi. "Ahem, I mean, thank you for the lovely gift. Please, let me show you around." Shaking with silent laughter, Rei motioned for her to lead the way. "This is my living room, where I watch the news and other such adult programs," Usagi said with a broad sweep of her hand before moving on. "And this is the kitchen where I cook all of my home-made meals."

"But don't clean up after those meals," Rei noted.

Usagi blushed faintly. "Yes, well, it's been a very busy day..." Rei just grinned as the tour continued. "And, uh, this is where I do my laun...dry..." She trailed off, staring at the washer. "AUGH!" she cried suddenly.

"What's wrong?" Rei said in alarm. Usagi hung her head and opened the washer lid. Her laundry stared back at her accusingly.

"I forgot to put it in the dryer," she said miserably. "Do you think it's okay?"

"I'm sure it's... oh," Rei's words sent a wave of panic through Usagi. It must have shown on her face, because Rei was quick to soothe her. "No, no, it's okay! Look, it's just... everything is soaking wet still. Did you turn on the spin cycle?" Usagi shook her head slowly. She tried her best to memorize what Rei did as she turned knobs and hit buttons. "We'll just start it again with a little bit of detergent, and make sure the spin cycle, is set... there. Did you get that?"

Usagi nodded happily. "I think so. Umm... can I call you if I can't figure it out?"

"Of course," Rei sighed.

"Yay!" Usagi hugged her hard. "Another domestic success! This calls for a celebration!"

Rei's ice cream was soft enough to serve easily, and Usagi made a big show it, laying out their bowls and spoons with exaggerated gravitas. She plopped down into her seat and served herself with gusto, careful to leave plenty for Rei. It was maple, her third – no, second – favorite, and she hummed happily around her spoon after the first bite. "Rei, you're the best," she declared once she was done savoring it.

Rei sat up a little straighter. "You're welcome," she said happily.

"And you look amazing tonight," Usagi added between bites. "Minako did a great job." To her surprise, Rei's eyes widened, and she flushed crimson to the tips of her ears before lowering her face to stare into her bowl. "I mean, you always look beautiful!" Usagi blurted, afraid she'd upset her somehow. "I just meant that Minako's makeup really brings out your, um... everything?" If anything Rei's face seemed to get redder. She bit her lip, afraid that anything else she said would just make things worse. After a minute, Rei took a deep breath and looked back up at her. She was pink from the roots of her hair down to the neck of her blouse, and Usagi had to stifle a sudden giggle.

"Ugh... sorry," Rei said finally, rubbing at her cheeks with the palms of her hands. "Minako was making me play dress-up all afternoon, and you know how she can get when she's all revved up."

Usagi nodded in sudden understanding. Minako could always be counted on to compliment a haircut or a new outfit, but she had a tendency to get a little overexcited, and once that happened those compliments could start ranging from inappropriate to downright graphic. Rei had a hard time taking compliments at the best of times, but Minako must have been really getting under her skin if she was this flustered. "Don't be sorry," she said. "I've been there." Everyone who was friends with Minako had been there at some point.

"Heh, yeah..."

Usagi decided to change the subject slightly. "What's up with this thing with Haruka? It's... not a real date, is it?"

"Ugh, with those two, who can tell," Rei said. "Every other word out of their mouths is some kind of innuendo when they're together, but it never means anything. I pity whoever has to deal with them tonight." She poked fitfully at her ice cream. "I suppose it's possible, with Haruka and Michiru's... arrangement." They both studied their bowls in silence for a moment. Rei knew full well that Usagi didn't approve of their friends' open relationship. It upset her on a level below her ability to articulate, but for some reason none of her friends shared her opinion. She'd even received a ten minute diatribe from Minako about being closed-minded, so now she kept her sentiments to herself.

Finally, she broke the silence. "Well, if anything happens, she'll be the first to tell us."

Rei's laugh sounded a little forced. "Haha, yeah, definitely. Hell, if anything happens with anyone, she's the first one to tell us."

"Yeah." She let her spoon clatter down next to her now-empty bowl. "So... I don't suppose you want to help me do the dishes?"

Rei smiled and shook her head. "You didn't invite me over just to do all your housework did you? I thought you were supposed to be learning how to function on your own?"

Usagi sat up straight. "I'll have you know I am a very responsible and mature young woman," she said airily. Rei didn't seem to buy it, so she changed tactics. "Puh-leeeeeeeease?" she pleaded, batting her eyelashes. "I've helped you with chores at the shrine tons of times." Not well, mind you, but it was technically true.

Rei looked skeptical, but eventually she relented. "Alright, fine. But pay attention - I'm not coming over here every night to do this!" With the two of them working together, it really didn't take much time at all, even with Rei insisting they do things like sweep the floor and clean under the stove elements that Usagi thought were going way overboard. She even showed Usagi how to run the dishwasher, which she'd apparently been doing wrong for years. It was actually kinda fun, even with Rei lecturing her occasionally, and she had to admit it was pretty satisfying when they were all finished.

With that out of the way, they settled down in the living room to watch TV. Usagi pulled out a horror movie she'd been dying to see, but Rei managed to talk her out of it by reminding her that she'd be sleeping alone for the next three weeks. Instead, they settled on a romantic drama that Makoto had recommended to Rei. It utterly failed to capture Usagi's interest, and for two hours she sat slouched on the couch, trying not to fidget and shooting regular glances at Rei to see if she was into it. Unfortunately, she seemed to be enraptured by it; her eyes never left the screen from start to finish. By the time the credits mercifully started to roll, it was just past eleven.

"What did you think?" Rei asked, trying and failing to fight a massive yawn. She would have been up early to do chores around the shrine, even during summer vacation (which was just wrong).

"Do you want to sleep over?" Usagi blurted out. Rei froze mid-yawn and then began to cough, but she waved Usagi away when she tried to be helpful by patting her on the back. "It's just... after what you said before, all I can think about is how empty the house is...," she explained sheepishly after Rei had regained her composure.

At first, Rei's only response was a long, unreadable look, but finally she said, "I-I didn't bring anything with me."

"You can wear some of my pajamas!" Usagi said hopefully. "Fresh from the dryer!" Rei didn't answer, just continued to stare bemusedly at the empty space between them. "Or... I mean, you don't have to if you don't want to." She felt uncertainty creep into her voice. "Rei?"

At the sound of her name, Rei jerked. "I'm sorry, I, uh, kinda spaced out trying to think if there was anything I had to do in the morning," she said, focusing her eyes back on Usagi. "I just have to give my Grandpa a quick call, but I'm sure it's fine." She staggered as Usagi threw her arms around her.

"Yes! Sleepoveeeeeer!" she squealed. "I'll get the futon out!" She dashed up the stairs two at a time and started digging through the linen closet. When was the last time she had had an actual, real sleepover? One that didn't involve studying or Senshi business? Maybe in middle school with Naru, she thought as she lugged the futon down the hall into her room. That seemed so long ago now. And sure, there had been times when all of them got together at Mako's apartment, or Haruka and Michiru's house, but that wasn't the same. There was something about laying in the dark and talking to your best friend until way too late that you couldn't replicate with half a dozen girls laughing and gossiping all at once.

Plus, she and Rei rarely had a chance to hang out, just the two of them, she thought as she went in search for a spare pillow. Worse, the times they did it was almost always to cheer her up because of some drama with Mamoru. It bothered her sometimes that their relationship was so one-sided. That was one benefit of going to an all-girls' school, she supposed – no boy troubles.

In the end, she stole a pillow off of one of her parents' beds, figuring it would at least be clean. Rei was just reaching the top of the stairs when she came out of their room. A look of irritation darkened her face. "Everything okay?" Usagi asked, clutching the pillow in front of her.

"Nope, all good!" Rei replied with a smile. Usagi sighed in relief. "Minako and Haruka just won't stop messaging me."

"They're still out?" Usagi asked in surprise. Rei nodded.

"Yeah, at some club." Usagi grabbed the phone from her hand. The two blondes were barely visible in the under-lit and grainy picture, but she could make them out, cheek-to-cheek and giving a thumbs-up to the camera. Both of them were frowning in mock severity.

"What is this supposed to mean?" she asked.

"That they are having 'serious fun', I think," Rei answered, taking her phone back and muting it. "That's enough out of them."

"I hope they aren't drinking," Usagi said. Not that she was really worried. Minako would probably go a little wild when she turned eighteen in three months, but until then she claimed that she'd never had a drop to drink, and Haruka certainly wouldn't drink if she was driving. Which she was, of course.

"I'm sure they're fine. Besides," Rei said with an evil grin, "they can't be worse than you get when you drink."

Usagi felt her ears burning, but held her tongue. True, she got falling down drunk every time she'd had so much as a glass of wine. Worse, she always remembered every slurred conversation or stupid, stumbling antic with horrifying clarity. And yes, maybe that embarrassment made her a little preachy when it came to drinking, but... but-!

"Sorry, I know you don't like being teased about it," said Rei. Her shy tone deflated Usagi's internal rant, and she had to resist the urge to pout. That wasn't fair, apologizing right as she was getting worked up.

"Well... thanks," she said grudgingly. She glanced down at her alarm clock. "I guess we should go to bed?"

Rei nodded beside her. "Yeah, it's a little past my bedtime." She gave Usagi a sleepy smile. "Are you tired? I thought you usually stay up late on the weekend."

"Sure, it's fine, I'm kinda tired anyway," Usagi lied. Her original plan for tonight had been to stay up all night watching movies and playing video games, and for that noble purpose she had slept in extra late this morning. Maybe she could read manga under the covers with the light on her phone, sort of like when she was a kid. The thought made her smile.

She changed into her pajamas while Rei went to grab the laundry from the dryer. When she returned, Usagi thrust her arms into the basket with a happy sigh. Even at the peak of a blistering Tokyo summer, there was something wonderful about the feeling of hot, fresh laundry. She unceremoniously dumped the contents onto her bed, and then pawed through the pile for a minute before pulling out one of her favorites. "Here," she said, tossing them towards Rei, who caught them awkwardly. "Those are nice and light."

Rei pulled off her blouse and shorts quickly, turning away from Usagi as she unhooked her bra, but not fast enough to hide the tiny spots of red in her cheeks. Usagi shook her head and grinned at her friend's modesty. Once Rei had struggled into the pajamas, she did a little unconscious twirl and looked at herself. Usagi had to admit that they weren't quite Rei's style: the dark blue cotton with white piping and a cute little monogrammed 'U' on the pocket washed out her complexion, making her seem even paler than normal, and they were a little too big, just the way Usagi liked her pajamas. Still, Rei had an annoying way of looking good in anything.

"You're right, this does feel nice," she cooed. "But I kind of feel like a little girl." She held her arms out to the sides, and the sleeves slid down past her palms.

"It's not that bad," Usagi said, looking down at her own pink set. "It's better than them getting all twisted around while you sleep."

They both settled into bed, and Usagi flicked the switch on her bedside lamp. She rolled over and peered over the side of her bed. Rei's eyes met hers, the whites seeming to glow in the moon-lit room. "How is the futon? Do you need another blanket?"

Rei smiled back up at her. "I don't even know if I'll use this one, it's like twenty degrees in here."

"What about to lay on? Is the futon enough?" Usagi had always had a hard time falling asleep on the floor.

"Usagi, I'm fine, honestly. This is way thicker than the ones we have at the shrine. And it's actually a little cooler down here."

"Alright," Usagi said doubtfully. "I'm just trying to, you know, be a good host."

"Tell you what, how about you don't snore all night, and we'll call it even," Rei teased.

Usagi flopped back onto her pillows. "Just for that, I'm sleeping with my mouth open all night," she announced, and began to make exaggerated snores until Rei started to laugh. She started to laugh too, causing her to half-laugh, half-snore, half-choke, which made Rei laugh even harder.

Once their giggles had petered out, Usagi found herself staring at the ceiling, tracing its familiar lines of light and shadow. Rei was quiet on the floor beside her; was she falling asleep? Her legs squirmed under the thin blanket in a fit of anxious energy. She felt... vaguely unsatisfied. Her night with Rei had been fun, but had it really been any different than any other time they'd hung out? She'd expected being alone in the house to be some kind of grand adventure that would mark a new stage in her life. Somehow. But it seemed like all she'd done today was eat, do chores, and watch TV.

She thought of Minako and Haruka, out on their date doing who knows what, and felt an abrupt surge of jealousy. Maybe there was more to being an adult than just being unsupervised. Usagi wasn't a rebellious teenager by any stretch (whatever her parents might be paranoid about), but she felt a sudden and intense craving for some kind of mischief. An idea flit into her head.

"Rei!" she whispered, leaning over the bed again. Rei's eyes popped open.

"Whah?" she murmured, rubbing her eye. Asleep already. Typical.

Usagi shot her an impish grin. "How would you like to do something a little bit... naughty?"

Rei's hand froze, and her open eye stared into Usagi's for a moment. "What do you mean?" she said hoarsely.

Usagi stuck out her hand. "C'mon," she said. Rei stared at her hand for a second for taking it wordlessly and letting herself be pulled up onto the bed. She sat back on her heels at the foot of the bed, eyes wide and unblinking. Usagi turned and pushed open her windows. The night air was warm, with a hint of a breeze. Behind her, Rei made a surprised noise as she swung her legs out over the windowsill and onto the eaves.

"Are you crazy?" Rei hissed as she stood up, one hand on the casement. "That's dangerous!"

Usagi crouched down and looked back into the room. "First off, I've seen you jump off of a ten-storey building as Sailor Mars. Second, I've come in and out of this window dozens of times. Not all of us have ground-floor bedrooms with sliding doors." She reached out her hand again. "Now, quit being a baby." Muttering to herself, Rei took her hand and let Usagi lead her out. "Watch your feet – try to stand in the middle of the tiles so you don't get a splinter."

"What if someone sees us?" Rei asked as Usagi led her carefully around the corner of the eave.

"That's why we're doing it while my parents aren't here," Usagi replied. She gingerly stepped around the corner of the house. She hadn't actually come this particular way since she started middle school; normally, she just transformed and leapt onto the next rooftop. Fortunately, it was just as easy as she remembered. Soon, the two of them were scampering up the slope of the roof. The shakes here were warm underfoot, even hours after the sun had set, and they provided excellent traction to their bare feet. Once they reached the top, Usagi carefully stepped over the ridge and sat down. Rei sat beside her on her left and let out a quiet gasp.

A sea of lights spread out before them, rolling downwards into the glittering mass of downtown Tokyo. The gentle slope of her neighborhood was almost impossible to detect from the street, but long ago Usagi had discovered that it provided a miraculously clear view of the city from the roof (not to mention a handy avenue for the superheroine on the go). She pointed to small patch of forest to their left, easily visible in the glow of the near-full moon that hung over them. "That's your shrine."

"What, really?" Rei craned her neck. "It seems so close."

"Yup, I looked it up once." She pointed slightly to the right. "See those two blue lights with the red one between them? That's my school, I'm pretty sure."

"Huh."

"It's weird to think that in eight months I won't be going there anymore," she said wistfully. "You know... I've always kinda wished we could've gone to school together. I feel bad that you're the only one who never got to. I mean, except for Setsuna, but she doesn't count." She'd thought a lot about this since school started this year. The dawning apprehension that school would end, and their lives might take all of them on different paths, always made her heart ache. She stubbornly pushed the thought from her head.

Rei smiled sadly, her eyes still on the distant lights. "Well, TA Academy hasn't been bad. And...," she paused. "You've always made me feel included. All of you, I mean," she added quickly.

"Well, of course." Usagi scooted over to the left a bit and put her arms around her friend's shoulders. She gazed up at a night sky that almost seemed like a reflection of the city below. A small breeze kicked up and she shivered, taking the excuse to clutch Rei tighter. Rei's arm cautiously crept around her waist, and she smiled. "I'm really glad you're here, Rei," she said, resting her cheek on the other girl's shoulder. "I don't know what I'd do without you."

"Usagi." A note of... something in Rei's voice made her look up. Rei's profile was white as milk in the moonlight, her eyes heavy-lidded, twin storms of amethyst. Her left hand came up to cup Usagi's chin, her thumb sliding smoothly along the curve of her jaw, and her right hand brushed the small of her back, pulling Usagi gently towards her as she leaned forward. The feel of her hot breath raised goosebumps on Usagi's arms a split second before their lips met and her faculties fled her.

A lifetime later, Rei drew back, breaking their kiss. Usagi opened her eyes, and saw Rei watching her intently, her expression sphinxian, inscrutable. A question hung heavy in the air between them, but Usagi couldn't find her voice. Every iota of her brain power was dedicated to two all-consuming processes: first, the sudden vivid and inexorable awareness that she hadn't been touched by another person for almost eight months. Second, a slight, but world-altering change in perspective, like the twist of a kaleidoscope, that was exposing strange and wonderful angles on four years' worth of memories – memories of quiet conversations and too-long glances, of teasing and taunting, of agonizing loss and almost unbearable relief. A second lifetime passed before she could scrape together the wherewithal to speak.

" _Oh._ "

* * *

Author's Note

Hello, friends!

Thanks for taking to the time to read my little story here. Just a heads up, this story is also available on AO3 in its full, adult-oriented glory under the pseud **balambfish**! You haven't missed anything in this chapter, but going forth there will be considerable differences between the content of the AO3 and FFnet versions. So don't miss out!

Peace,

BF


	2. Milestone 1 - Proof of Concept

Project: Venus

Milestone 1 – Proof of Concept

"Quit squirming, or you're going to get a very expensive line drawn across your face."

Rei bit back a growl of irritation and straightened her back, crossing her feet in front of her. Minako's bed was just a bit too high for her feet to touch the ground, and just a bit too soft to support her comfortably. Her eyes darted longingly over to the straight-backed chair pushed under the vanity next to the bed, prompting an annoyed tut from Minako. "Just look at me for like fifteen seconds." Rei obediently stared back up into Minako's big blue eyes. "I don't understand how you can sit and stare at that fire for hours at a time, but you won't stay still long enough for me to put on some fricking eyeliner."

Rei swallowed the retort she had planned. Minako was right, she wasn't exactly cooperating. It wasn't like she'd never been in a makeup chair before, although it had been a few years since she'd done any modelling. It wasn't in her nature to fidget, but Minako had been acting strange all afternoon, and it was putting her on edge. Minako had invited her over days in advance, and messaged her repeatedly throughout the week to make sure she was coming, but so far all they had done since she arrived was talk and try on clothes. Which was fine! It really was.

The first thing driving her crazy was the mood swings. Michiru had sent a 'care package' from Germany that consisted mainly of clothes and makeup from labels she had only seen in fashion magazines. They were all beautiful, and Minako was taking gleeful joy in dressing her up. But, it was like there were two Minako's in the room with her: normal Minako the high-school girl, laughing and teasing, giving her sidelong grins and practically bouncing on her toes from excitement. And then there was what she could only call Minako the soldier, serious and calculating, appraising a new outfit with steely-eyed focus before announcing aloud to herself that, no, this was too casual, or too frilly, or too fancy. And if Rei offered her opinion, she would just smile and say that this wasn't _quite_ right, and could she try on the cream blouse with the chiffon scarf? Or maybe these earrings instead? And 'not quite right' for what, neither Minako would answer.

That was the second thing. Minako was making constant, coy little references to something happening tonight, and Rei's attempts to get a straight answer from her had been fruitless. Minako was a terrible liar, but right now that was working in her favor. It was impossible to tell if she was trying to be sneaky and failing, or if she was deliberately needling Rei with whatever this secret was, and it was beginning to make her angry.

"There. Tell me what you think," Minako announced suddenly. Rei took the hand mirror she passed to her.

"It's… wow," she said. Her eyes looked larger and rounder, but the effect was subtle, just as she preferred. Minako really did have a deft hand for these things. "Great work, as always."

Minako beamed at the compliment. "Thanks, but I can't take all the credit - this German stuff is amazing."

"Did you ask Michiru how much it was?" Rei knew it was rude to ask, but she was filled with a morbid curiosity.

"Oh, darling," Minako said airily, making a dainty gesture, "The shop I found them in doesn't put price tags on its products. I simply saw them and thought of you." Rei couldn't help laughing at the impression. Michiru would never do something as gauche as flaunt her wealth to your face, but sometimes it seemed like she saw money as something that happened to other people. Rei's family was by no means poor, but being on the receiving end of Michiru's generosity could be… intimidating.

After that, soldier-Minako was back, and Rei sat as still as she could while she touched up her cheeks and lips with a look of intense concentration. When she was finally done, Minako sat back with a self-satisfied nod. "Not bad, if I say so myself."

Turning back and forth with the hand mirror, Rei couldn't disagree. She hardly looked like she was wearing makeup at all, which required patience, practice, and a good eye. "Have you ever considered doing this professionally?"

Minako flashed a coy smile. "You can't really improve on perfection, but I did what I could."

Rei rolled her eyes at the compliment. Minako had been laying it on thick all evening. She stood up from the bed and took a seat at the vanity. The purple ruffled blouse and black skirt that had finally satisfied Minako fit her quite well – suspiciously well, one might even say. She plucked at the straps of the lacy black bra peaking out around the wide neck of the blouse. She'd put it on reluctantly – she could hardly wear her own 'boring' one with all of these designer clothes, at least according to Minako – and it had been a perfect fit, too. Maybe Michiru had sent over stuff for everyone? She wouldn't put it past Minako to somehow know all of their measurements.

"That bra's nice, isn't it?" Apparently her fidgeting hadn't gone unnoticed. "Michiru sent a few different colours... oh!" Minako scurried over to her bed and started pawing through the pile of clothes. "Aha! Can't have one without the other!" She pulled out a flimsy looking T of black lace. Rei's eyes went wide.

"Absolutely not."

"Oh, come on," Minako teased, waving the panties in Rei's face. "I want to see how they look!"

Rei snatched them out of her hand. "Are you insane? It's the middle of the evening! What would your parents think if they walked in here or something?"

"That I have excellent taste?" Minako said sweetly. Rei could feel her ears burning, and she gave Minako a dirty look as she quickly tossed the tiny scrap of fabric back onto the bed. "Aww, don't be such a prude!" Minako objected.

"Minako!" Rei shouted, more loudly and hysterically than she meant to.

"Alright, geez," Minako pouted, putting her hands up in surrender. "Spare me the death glare."

Rei opened her mouth to apologize, but she instead she decided to press the advantage. "How about you tell me what's going on? You've been acting weird all afternoon."

"What do you mean?" Minako's face was the very image of cherubic innocence.

"What I _mean_ ," Rei said, poking her in the chest, "is that you've been dropping little hints about _something_ the whole time I've been here, and I've had it. So... spill it!"

Minako didn't say anything, but instead grabbed the hand that Rei had poked her with. Rei frowned as she turned it back and forth, inspecting it. "Fine, but we're doing your nails at the same time."

"No more dress-up, I want-" Rei began.

"I can multitask. Now _sit!_ "

Rei found herself sitting on the bed before her brain even registered what was happening. Minako grabbed a plastic box from her vanity and sat down across from her. As she searched through it, she spoke in a quiet voice. "I want to talk to you about Usagi."

It was honestly the last thing she'd expected to come out of Minako's mouth, and for a moment Rei could only gape at her. "What... what about her?" she finally mumbled through a lump in her throat.

Minako gave her a look of exasperation before turning her eyes back to the box. "Don't play stupid, Rei. If you want straight talk from me, then I expect you to return the consideration." She pulled a pair of nail polish bottles from the box and set it aside. "Hand," she commanded.

Rei didn't move. "I don't want to have this conversation right now," she said stiffly.

"Good," Minako said lightly before she leaned forward and grabbed Rei's wrist, yanking it forward. "Then maybe I don't have to worry about you interrupting me." Rei tried to stare her down, but Minako's attention had already moved to unscrewing one of the bottles.

"I don't want or need your advice."

"Well, we know you aren't interested in following it, at least," Minako said drily. She tapped on Rei's hand, which had clenched into a fist. "Ahem." Reluctantly, Rei relaxed her hand, and she continued. "Over the last two years, I've tried to help you tell her how you feel, and I've tried to help you get over her – whatever it was you've claimed you wanted at the time."

Rei frowned as she began to apply basecoat in slow, even strokes. Minako's advice was always well-meaning, but blunt. 'Tell her how you feel, and if you get rejected, have a good cry, write some terrible poetry, buy a vibrator, and move on.' What kind of advice was that?

Minako seemed to read her mind. "Just because it isn't what you want to hear doesn't mean my advice is bad. But every time you come and cry on my shoulder, you decide that the best solution is to keep pining away from afar," Minako continued as she moved to the next nail. "Now, don't get me wrong, you are a world-class piner. It's very romantic, in a stupid, TV drama sort of way." She looked up into Rei's eyes. "And if you were just some girl at school mooning over an upperclassman that she'd barely said ten words to, I would have given up a long time ago. But, I happen to think the two of you have potential. Plus, you're both miserable, and I'm tired of it. Aren't you?"

"So your answer is to try and interfere in both of our lives?" Rei said, her voice tight with anger.

"I'm doing the opposite of interfering, thank you very much," Minako said haughtily. "I've spent this whole school year removing every possible obstacle from between the two of you. I spent weeks talking up how great it was while my parents were gone. I guilted the hell out of poor Ami to get her to spend so much time tutoring Usagi before the exams. I even booked you up like a week in advance so I knew you wouldn't be doing anything tonight."

Rei had to fight the urge to yank her hand out of Minako's grasp. "So, this whole thing was just some stupid conspiracy so you could play matchmaker?" Minako's hand paused.

"Do you think this is a game to me?" she asked quietly, staring at Rei's hand. "I get it, okay? Watching from the sidelines while someone you love is miserable... wanting to help but terrified of making things worse... it's the most awful feeling."

"Minako...," Rei breathed.

Minako looked up at her with a shaky smile. "Don't take this the wrong way, but I've never met anyone who held on tighter to their own unhappiness, Rei Hino. You've tried harder than anyone to keep Usagi and Mamoru together, and I understand your reasons. Believe me." She bent back down and started on Rei's nails again. "But, you need to ask yourself if she's really happy, and if not, what you're going to do about it."

Her anger draining out of her, Rei suddenly felt exhausted. "Do you think she... would she really...?"

"I don't know for sure." There was a chagrined edge to Minako's voice. "Usagi's very touchy about this stuff, especially lately."

Rei's throat constricted. "You... asked her?"

"Of course, how else would I find out?"

"MINAKO!" Rei roared, jerking her hand away.

"Oh, for God's sake, give me a little credit!" Minako said, putting her hands on her hips. "It's not like I passed her a note in class that said 'Do you love Rei? YES/NO'. I have a little more sense than that, thanks. But, she gets mad if you even suggest there might be other options out there. I'm betting she's been thinking the same thing, and feeling guilty about it. Remember when Haruka and Michiru made their big announcement?"

"Oh, yeah..." The two of them had certainly raised some eyebrows when they revealed that they were opening their relationship while Michiru was studying abroad. They'd done it more to pre-empt rumors and drama than from some deep desire to share the intimate details of their bedroom, which Rei could understand. She'd seen how fast that kind of gossip could get out of control at school, even amongst friends. Usagi's reaction had been shockingly negative, though. "Do you really think that's why she got so upset?"

Minako reached out and gently drew Rei's hand forward. "See, this is why I'm here! You may know Usagi better than anyone else, but I think about this stuff basically all the time." Rei began to laugh, but she was cut short by the look in Minako's eyes. "All. The. Time."

"Uhhh..."

"Gotta stay sharp! Being an Agent of Love and Beauty is hard work." She struck a pose. "Unfortunately, the position doesn't come with a little heart-shaped bow and arrows, so I have to make do."

Rei sighed. "It would certainly make things easier..."

Minako's answering smile was heavy with sympathy. "I know it feels impossible, but when the right moment comes, I promise it won't be as hard as you think. You just have to be ready to strike while the ironing's hot!"

"While the... oh. Yeah. Got it." Rei had to smile despite herself.

She watched in silence as Minako finished the basecoat on both of her hands, her stomach doing flips. Of course, she'd thought about doing what Minako was suggesting. Dreamed about it, despite all of her best efforts to put those feelings aside. Long ago, she'd resigned herself to, well, mooning over Usagi from afar, but despite Minako's sterling advice, she'd never even really tried to move on. Instead, she tried to refocus that energy into her duty as Usagi's guardian with... mixed results.

"Hey." Rei looked up in Minako's eyes. "Just say what's on your mind. If you don't take anything else away from this conversation, try to remember that. You spend too much time hiding up in that pretty head of yours."

Rei took a deep breath. "Okay, let's say hypothetically that I do this. How do I know when the, uh, ironing's hot?"

"No clue," Minako shrugged. "Like I said, I can only clear the way. You guys have to actually go the distance. The important thing is to not get hung up on waiting for the perfect moment. Sometimes, you have to make the moment perfect yourself."

Rei blinked. "That's... wow."

"I know, right?" Minako grinned. "You should be writing all of this down." She laughed as Rei stuck her tongue out at her. "Seriously, though, try not to overthink it. Hell, maybe right now Usagi is sitting around her house wondering how to tell you how she feels."

"That's not very likely," Rei said glumly.

Minako shook her head. "Rei, in the last four years, we've met three talking cats, died twice, walked on the moon, fought an evil circus, travelled a thousand years into the future, watched Usagi escape out of three separate and unrelated black holes, and fought a two meter tall, hot pink bodybuilder wearing a sailor fuku. Someone being in love with you would be the least strange thing that has _ever_ happened to you."

"I... huh." It actually didn't seem that crazy, put that way.

Five minutes later, Rei's nails were finally done, a simple medium nude gloss that she quite liked. When she said as much, Minako waved it away. "Agent of Love AND Beauty, remember? All in a day's work."

"Seriously, I don't know how Michiru matched my skin tone so well...," she trailed off at the tight expression on Minako's face. "Oh God, she bought every shade."

Minako's response was to shake the plastic box full of bottles. It looked... hefty. "It might have actually been cheaper to fly you to Berlin in person," she said with a laugh.

"I take it she knows about this little scheme of yours? Is that why she sent all this stuff back home?"

"Naturally," Minako replied. Seeing the pained look on Rei's face, she said hurriedly, "No one else, though! Well, Artemis, but he doesn't count. And, I mean, Michiru probably told Haruka... But, just think of her as like your sponsor! Like Haruka has for her race cars. Only, you know, you don't have Michiru's name embroidered on the back on that blouse."

"I guess..."

"We all have your back. I mean, you don't need our blessing, but... well, you have it." She smiled. "Whether you like it or not."

Rei leaned back on the bed, her hands carefully splayed in front her, when her purse began to buzz. "Hey!" she exclaimed as Minako reached in and pulled out her phone.

"Finally! You're nails are wet, I've got it," Minako said as Rei struggled to sit up without touching the bed. "Helloo-oooo?" she said cheerfully into the phone. "Geez, sorry to disappoint you. Rei's hands are full, so I stole her phone." Rei managed to struggle to a sitting position.

"Minako, give me my phone!" she demanded. Minako only winked at her.

"Nope, she's at my place... Nope, Rei's being my model for the new makeup I got today, but other than that we're just hanging out, why?" She paused to listen, and Rei jumped to her feet, reaching for her phone. Minako was obviously ready for the maneuver, dancing out of the way easily as Rei stumbled into the chair by the vanity and pinwheeled her arms frantically, trying to regain her balance without touching anything.

"Oho, empty house getting to you already?" Minako teased, sticking out her tongue at Rei. "I'm sorry to say I have a date tonight. I mean, not _really_ sorry..." She grinned as Rei looked around the room, trying to find something she could throw at her. "Ew, no. It's with Haruka."

Rei sat back down on the bed with a huff, weaponless. She sent a fuming glare Minako's way, but the blonde took no notice. "Aww, don't pout," she said, giving Rei a significant look. "Rei can come over once I'm done with her. Of course, even if she ever had plans, she'd drop them in a hot second for-" her words were cut off as Rei lashed out, slapping the phone out of her hand with her palm. They both stared in surprise as it clattered to the floor. "If you keep that up, you're gonna break your phone _and_ mess up your nails." Minako laughed.

"Don't tell her... things!" Rei yelled. Minako kept laughing as Rei continued to smack her with the heel of her palm.

"Shush, I know what I'm doing," she retorted as she scooped the phone off of the floor. "Sorry, Rei is trying to punch me while her nails are wet and it looks hilarious. I don- Ow!" Rei's foot caught her in the back of the thigh as she turned, and Minako shot her an annoyed look.

"Give. Me. My. Phone!" Rei growled.

"Alright, fine, geez, here's Rei." She tossed the phone onto the bed and crossed her arms. "There you go."

Rei stared at the phone in sudden apprehension. She hadn't actually thought any of this through. What was she supposed to say? Was this part of Minako's plan?

"Rei!" Minako hissed. "Don't just sit there!"

Okay, she could do this. It was no big deal, just two friends talking on the phone, nothing weird about that. Just keep it nice and light, everybody's cool-

" _REI!_ "

With a final panicked look at Minako, she gingerly picked up the phone, trying not to brush the bedspread with her nails. "Hey," was all she could squeeze past the sudden knot in her throat. She swallowed hard. "Sorry about that, Mina has no sense of... well, sense. What's up?"

"Do you want to come over for a bit? I'm kinda bored." The hope in Usagi's voice made her chest tighten. Alright, time to play it cool.

"Yeah, sure! Haruka's picking Mina up soon-" she looked questioningly at Minako who nodded in encouragement. "-so, I'll head over then. Should I bring anything?" Minako grinned and gave her a thumbs up.

"No, that's okay," Usagi said excitedly. "See you then!"

"Okay, see you soon," said Rei.

"BYEEEEEE!" Minako yelled.

A tiny click, and then it was over. Rei let out a shaky breath she didn't realize she'd been holding. The bed creaked as Minako sat down beside her. She looked incredibly self-satisfied. "There, that wasn't so hard!" She rubbed her hands together with glee. "I was expecting her to call a little earlier, but everything's still on track!"

Rei looked at her in disbelief. "How did you know she would call? She's been bragging about staying home alone ever since her marks came back."

"Easy. The novelty of being by yourself in a big house wears off pretty fast. I knew it wouldn't take long before she got lonely or bored and called you."

"How did you know she would call me?" Now it was Minako's turn to look incredulous.

"She always calls you first." She arched an eyebrow at Rei's doubtful expression. "Seriously, I can't even count how many calls from Usagi have started with 'I'm bored and Rei is busy, what are you up to?' And I'm not the only one, just ask anyone." Rei didn't have a response for that, so she went on. "Anyways, she'll call everyone else, too, but alas, everyone will be mysteeeeriously busy."

"I thought you said you didn't tell anyone," Rei said suspiciously.

"I didn't! But I've got Haruka tied up, Michiru is at school, Makoto is taking Ami to that showing I told her about tonight, and I convinced Setsuna that she should take Hotaru with her to China for that fashion show. Hell, even Artemis volunteered to get Luna out of the house for a while."

"Hmph," Rei grunted. "Wait, you actually have a date with Haruka?"

"Well, yeah, I'm not going to lie to her about anything. This plan is entirely on the up-and-up! Also, it was the only excuse I could think of that Usagi would accept."

Rei wanted to question her more, but there was already too much on her mind. She could think of a hundred ways tonight could end in complete disaster, and she stared into space, imagining them all until she felt a hand on her shoulder. She realized that Minako had asked her something.

"I said, are you still with me?" Minako repeated.

"Sorry, I..."

"I know," Minako interrupted, her voice quiet. "I've psyched you out, and I'm sorry. Just, you know, bring it back down a bit." She looked Rei in the eye. "This isn't a date, right? I'm not sending you over there with a box of chocolates and a corsage. It's just the two of you, hanging out. You don't _have_ to do anything. I just want you to have what we talked about in the back of your head."

"For when the ironing's hot?" Rei said, managing a small smile.

"Exactly!" Minako exclaimed.

She sat back on the bed and listened as Minako got herself dressed while keeping up a steady stream of chatter. It was mostly stream-of-consciousness relationship advice, the kind Rei would have dismissed out of hand once, but she was beginning to think it might not hurt to listen. Unfortunately, Minako jumped from topic to topic so much that Rei kind of wished that she actually could write it down.

Minako had obviously planned her outfit in advance, because it only took a few minutes for her wriggle into a short blue dress and white stockings. As she changed, Rei caught a glimpse of white lace before turning away, her face hot. Apparently Rei wasn't the only one Michiru had been lingerie shopping for. Just how serious was this date? Minako was just touching up her lipstick when her phone buzzed on the vanity. She glanced at it, smacking her lips. "Haruka's here. Are you ready to go?"

No. God no. "Yup," Rei lied. She grabbed her purse and followed Minako downstairs. They made their goodbyes to Minako's parents, and stepped out into a wall of summer heat that made her glad that Minako had dressed her light.

"Good evening, ladies." If she hadn't been leaning casually against her convertible, Rei never would have guessed that the girl wearing the long, sleeveless white dress was Haruka. The blonde grinned at her dumbfounded expression. She took a few sinuous steps towards them, her long legs flashing through the alarmingly high slits in the dress as she moved. "What do you think? I'm giving it a test drive as a favor to Setsuna."

Minako let out a low whistle. "Lean back against the car again, I want to get a picture. This lighting is perfect." Haruka leaned back, still grinning coquettishly. "Mmhmm... raise your right knee, I wanna see some of that leg." Haruka complied with a throaty laugh as Minako snapped a few shots. "Man, Michiru is gonna be so jealous when she sees these." She gave Rei a quick hug. "Let me know how things go, okay? If I don't hear from you, I'll assume the best!"

And then they were off. Minako winked and blew her a kiss as the convertible roared to life, and she stood, shock-still and staring, as they drove away.

Usagi's house was too close by to make waiting for a bus worthwhile, so Rei trudged over on foot, the red summer sun beating at her back. She took it slow, not wanting to arrive there a sweaty mess after all the work Mina had done. She certainly wasn't procrastinating…

About halfway there, her phone buzzed with a message from Usagi:

 _chagne of plans plz bring snackcs_ _／_ _(^x^)_ _＼_

Rei smiled. She had debated bringing something, but she hadn't wanted to be presumptuous. God, Mina had her second-guessing everything… but it was fine if it was Usagi's request, right?

Fortunately, there was a Lawson not far out of the way. Rei wasn't normally bothered by heat, but it felt wonderful to step into its air-conditioned interior. She wandered the aisles for a few minutes, enjoying the cool while waiting for inspiration to strike. Eventually she settled on ice cream; Usagi would probably be hot, too. She reached for a container of rum raisin, Usagi's favorite, but stopped short. Would she think it was weird that Rei knew her favorite flavor? Would that give her the wrong impression? No, better play it safe and go for her second favorite. She grabbed a container of maple and headed for the checkout.

"That will be ¥710, please," the cashier said, his tone chipper.

"Thanks." Rei dug into her purse for her wallet. "The hell…?" Something was wadded up in her purse, a handkerchief or something. She pulled it out, and snagged a 1000-yen note from her wallet. "Here you go."

The cashier didn't move. She followed his wide-eyed gaze to the scrap of black silk dangling from her other hand. She silently screamed Minako's name and, eyelid twitching, tucked the pair of panties delicately back into her purse. "Keep the change," she said hoarsely, sliding the bill onto the counter and walking out the door in careful, measured steps. Her face was on fire up to the roots of her hair. Even the heavy summer air felt cool in comparison.

She spent the rest of the walk quietly seething at Minako, her feet leading her unconsciously while she fantasized about revenge. Before she knew it, she was walking through gates of Usagi's house. In her anger, she'd quite forgotten to be nervous, but the Tsukino household seemed to loom ominously in front of her and it all came rushing back. She stepped up to the door and raised her hand to knock. Her hand hung in the air, paralyzed, heart hammering in her chest, until she finally lowered it.

"Easy, girl, it's just a door," she said under her breath. She shook out her hands, straightened her clothes, took a deep breath, and knocked.

Rei sagged with relief when the movie finally faded to black. In a fit of what could only be called madness, she'd prodded Usagi into watching a romance that Makoto had been raving about. What it was about, she couldn't have said; she'd spent the last two hours staring dead ahead, her head boiling with hissing static, terrified that if she so much as looked at Usagi, her feelings would be scrawled in huge letters across her face. Her eyes were dry, and the base of her skull throbbed. She swallowed a few times, trying to moisten her parched mouth, and ventured a sidelong glance Usagi's way. She wasn't staring at Rei with confusion or revulsion, so that was good, at least. If anything, she looked bored.

"What did you think?" Rei asked, the last word punctuated with a massive yawn that caught her off guard. God, how late was it?

"Do you want to sleep over?" Usagi blurted out, leaning forward eagerly. Rei's yawn dissolved into a fit of coughing. Which was good, since it hid the look of panic that would have flashed across her face otherwise. What was this sudden invitation? Was this because of the movie? Oh God, what happened in the movie? Usagi began to pat her back as she hacked, but Rei waved her away.

"It's just... after what you said before, all I can think about is how empty the house is...," Usagi said softly, her fingers fidgeting in her lap. Rei cursed herself as she tried to catch her breath. She'd teased Usagi about watching scary movies before sleeping alone in this big, empty house, and now she was going to reap what she'd sown. Her mind wheeled desperately through possible excuses.

"I-I didn't bring anything with me." Really? That was the best that she could come up with? Dammit, she didn't want Usagi to think she was ditching her. And it wasn't like she really _wanted_ to go home. But, if she stayed over, suddenly things became a lot more... real. Like, _really_ real. What would Mina tell her to do? No, Jesus, don't think about that... Had she known this was going to happen? That girl had been two damn steps ahead of her all-

"Rei?" Rei's head snapped up, and she suddenly realized that Usagi had been talking to her.

"I'm sorry, I, uh, kinda spaced out trying to think if there was anything I had to do in the morning," she said. "I just have to give my Grandpa a quick call, but I'm sure it's fine." Shame curdled in her stomach at the lie. Some friend she was, trying to get out of spending time with her best friend because of her own stupid insecurities.

She grunted as Usagi leapt across the couch and threw her arms around her. "Yes! Sleepoveeeeeer!" she squealed. Rei's hands hovered hesitantly around Usagi's waist, but before she could process what was happening, Usagi was already bounding off the couch and up the stairs, shouting, "I'll get the futon out!"

Rei took a deep breath to steady herself. This was fine. There was no crisis here. She had slept over with Usagi and the girls plenty of times. This would be exactly the same. She should actually call home, though, just so her Grandpa wouldn't worry. She fished her phone out of her purse, only to find several messages from Minako waiting impatiently.

 _hows it going?_

 _what r u guys doing?_

 _call me if you need anythign 33_

 _reeeeiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!_

"Dammit, Mina...," she grumbled to herself. If she didn't respond, Minako would only escalate, and she didn't want her phone buzzing all night or, God forbid, Usagi seeing something she didn't need to see. But... she was already frazzled enough without Minako's particular brand of encouragement.

 _Just watched a movie, nothing exciting. Staying the night._

Maybe that would satisfy her?

Even that slim hope was quickly dashed. Mere seconds later her phone vibrated in her hand: Minako was calling this time. Pursing her lips, she let it ring a few times out of spite before picking up. "Minako, I-"

"Nothing exciting?" gushed Minako's voice on the other end. "Rei, this is so great! Everything's going just how I planned!"

"Uh huh," Rei said flatly.

"Look, I know I probably kinda freaked you out before, but now you really have to focus, okay? But don't worry, we have your back, remember?"

"So I keep hearing."

"Great! Okay, so, let's talk strategy."

"Minako, I don't have time for this," Rei said, rubbing her eye with her free hand. "It's late, and I have to call my Grandpa..."

"Don't worry about that, I already asked him if you could stay out overnight."

Rei's eyes shot open. "What? When?"

"Oh, days ago. I told him we were all going to hang out there, but you didn't want to abandon your responsibilities at the shrine, so I was going behind your back."

If Usagi hadn't been right upstairs, Rei would told her what she thought of that, loud and clear. Instead, she swallowed her anger and had to settle for, "You've sure thought of everything, haven't you?"

"I do what I can," Minako replied sweetly. "So, back to Usagi..."

"Fine, whatever, you win," Rei sighed. "Just make it fast."

"Don't worry, me and Haruka have been brainstorming all night about this." Minako's voice took on a lecturing tone. "First off, if the opportunity arises, we both agree you are going to have to make the first move. We just can't see Usagi doing it."

"Alright..." That was hardly rocket science.

"Second, if you do make a move, your intentions need to be absolutely clear. No talking around it in circles, no just holding her hand."

"Okay..." Rei felt her chest begin to tighten.

"Third, and this is a big one, when you do finally get your feelings out there, just... stop talking afterwards."

"What? What do you mean?"

"It's like... how can I put this... actually, here." There was a pause, and another voice came on the line.

"Uh, hi." Haruka's voice sounded strange. Had they ever actually spoken on the phone, now that she thought about it?

"Hi?"

"Sorry, I bet the last thing you wanted is more people sticking their noses into your personal life, but this is kinda outside of Minako's wheelhouse." Compared to Mina's manic excitement, Haruka's voice was smooth and mellow. "Now, I bet a pretty, mysterious girl like you has gotten a few confessions, am I right? Some first-year corners you in the locker room or the bathroom or something, and stammers out her undying love?"

Rei nodded slowly to herself. More than a few times, especially since she became a third-year. "And then, before you can even respond," Haruka continued, "they start babbling an apology, or pretend to laugh it off as a joke, or just start tearing up. They get themselves all worked up, but all you can do..."

"Is feel bad for them." Rei finished. It really was the worst feeling.

"Exactly. So what you do, is: you say your piece, and you wait. You let the moment breathe."

"Yeah. Yeah...okay." She brushed her suddenly sweaty palms on her skirt. "Oh God, I'm actually going to do this, aren't I?"

Rei stared at the ceiling, one hand laid across her forehead, fighting a silent war inside her head. She could just lay here and close her eyes, and things would just... continue. Same old life, no better and no worse. A life of quiet yearning, just like Minako had said. Not perfect, but... familiar. Safe. Alternatively, she could sneak her purse into the bathroom, change into that obscene excuse for underwear, and climb into Usagi's bed. She smiled dreamily before tamping the thought down for another time.

From her futon down on the floor, Usagi's bed seemed like an unscalable cliff. She'd done just what Minako advised, analysing every moment for some opportunity, but in the end they had just simply said goodnight and gone to bed. She'd been a fool to think anything else was going to happen. She closed her eyes and listened to Usagi's slow, even breathing. She was probably already asleep. Tomorrow, they would wake up and it would be like this whole night had never-

"Rei!"

Her eyes popped open as the bed creaked beside her. Usagi's head popped out over the edge.

"Whah?" she mumbled, rubbing her eye.

"How would you like to do something a little bit... naughty?" Even in the dark, she could see Usagi's mischief-filled grin, but the wheels in her head seemed to have slipped their gears and just spun uselessly.

It took an age for her to pull her thoughts together coherently enough to whisper hoarsely, "What do you mean?"

"C'mon!" Usagi said excitedly. She reached down, offering Rei her hand. Rei stared at it for a moment before taking it without a word, letting Usagi pull her up onto the bed. She sat on her heels at the foot of the bed, as far from Usagi as she could while her heart beat a frantic rhythm. Her hands clutched at the fabric of her borrowed pajamas as she stared, wide-eyed, trying to glean her friend's intentions. Outlandish scenarios raced through her mind, but the last thing she expected Usagi to do was push open the window and swing her legs out into the open air.

Rei's heart leapt into her throat as Usagi slid out the window, and she lurched forward to grab at her arm. But Usagi didn't drop away into the night. She just stood, staring quizzically at Rei. "Are you crazy?" Rei hissed. "That's dangerous!"

Usagi grinned. "First off, I've seen you jump off of a ten-storey building as Sailor Mars. Second, I've come in and out of this window dozens of times. Not all of us have ground-floor bedrooms with sliding doors." She reached out her hand again. "Now, quit being a baby." Muttering to herself, Rei took her hand and let Usagi lead her out. "Watch your feet – try to stand in the middle of the tiles so you don't get a splinter."

"What if someone sees us?" Rei asked as Usagi led her carefully around the corner of the eave.

"That's why we're doing it while my parents aren't here," Usagi replied casually.

True to her word, Usagi led them both easily around the eaves and up to the peak of the roof. The wooden shakes were pleasantly warm under her feet, like the walkways of the shrine after a hot day. She sat next to Usagi once they crossed the ridge, and gasped at the sea of lights that seemed to spread out before her. She'd seen Tokyo from above so many times, it shouldn't have impressed her at all. But, this was different. This wasn't the aftermath of some rooftop battle, it was just the two of them, with the whole world sparkling at their feet. She turned to see Usagi's face alive with simple wonder, the moonlight caressing her features and catching itself in her hair.

"That's your shrine." Usagi pointed off in the distance.

"What, really? It seems so close," she said, tearing her gaze away reluctantly.

"Yup, I looked it up once." She pointed slightly to the right. "See those two blue lights with the red one between them? That's my school, I'm pretty sure."

"Huh."

Usagi's expression grew wistful. "It's weird to think that in eight months I won't be going there anymore. You know... I've always kinda wished we could've gone to school together. I feel bad that you're the only one who never got to. I mean, except for Setsuna, but she doesn't count."

A pang of longing shot through Rei, bright and knife-sharp. She smiled sadly, her eyes still on the distant lights. "Well, TA Academy hasn't been bad. And...," she hesitated, trying to find the words. "You've always made me feel included. All of you, I mean."

"Well, of course." Rei sat up straighter as Usagi sidled closer and put her arms around her shoulders. Her own arm crept around Usagi's waist before she really realized what she was doing. She couldn't help sliding her palm ever so gently up Usagi's flank, trying to imagine the feel of skin under the soft cotton top. Usagi made a contented noise and leaned against her shoulder, sending a dizzying wave of heat through Rei's body. "I'm really glad you're here, Rei," she said softly "I don't know what I'd do without you."

Rei's heart felt swelled to bursting at her plainspoken sentiment. There was so much she wanted to say, but she held back, untrusting of her own tongue. Was this the moment? If it was, it was already so wonderful... it felt greedy to want to try and force her own feelings into it.

And yet... she had spent the last four years carefully avoiding this very situation, standing vigilant against her own desires in the name of a duty that she had shaped and taken up with her own hands. She had treated her own feelings like a threat to her princess's dream of the future, but she knew in her heart of hearts that it was simple fear that drove her to silence, fear of being rejected and abandoned again.

But, Usagi had never abandoned her. She was a constant; the things they had gone through together, the things that sometimes still kept her up at night... her heart had never wavered before any of them. And now, maybe, Rei could draw upon that strength again and _make_ this moment perfect.

"Usagi," she said, letting her tongue taste the word as if for the first time. Usagi sat up and turned, and God help her, she was so beautiful. She couldn't seem to find any other words, which was fine because her hand was already moving of its own accord, brushing up the line of Usagi's jaw with fingers that somehow weren't trembling. Usagi's face seemed to fill her whole world as she leaned forward. She felt a shiver run through Usagi's frame as their lips met, just a feather touch at first, then firmer, more insistent as Rei pulled the two of them tight together, her hand tangling itself in Usagi's hair.

When she finally, reluctantly, drew back, Usagi's eyes fluttered open. Her expression was glazed, her lips still parted in something akin to shock. She seemed to stare right through Rei, even though they were still only inches apart, but Rei could find no revulsion or regret in those eyes. It wasn't easy, but she made herself stay silent as she watched the gears turning in Usagi's head. Instead, she focused on memorizing everything she could about this moment: the last remnant of their kiss tingling on her lips, the tiny flecks of silver in Usagi's eyes, the taut muscles of her back under Rei's hand.

It wasn't long before her eyes snapped back into focus, and her eyes widened as if she was seeing Rei for the first time, the whites seeming to glow in the moonlight.

" _Oh,_ " she said breathlessly, finally breaking the pregnant silence that hung between them. The joy and wonder tied up in that single syllable were such a perfect echo of Rei's heart that she was left completely off-guard when Usagi surged forward, capturing Rei's mouth with her own. It wasn't a long kiss, but it still left Rei gasping when Usagi pulled away. It was the briefest respite, just long enough to see the joy and hunger in those blue eyes before she swept back in; now it was her fingers curling into Rei's hair while her other hand snuck under the hem of her shirt to stroke teasingly at the small of her back. Rei moaned into her mouth, and Usagi responded by brushing her tongue insistently across her lips.

Rei parted her lips instinctively, and Usagi's tongue darted into her mouth, eager and hungry. Rei had never kissed someone, not like this, so she tried her best to keep up, mirroring Usagi's thorough exploration of her mouth. Their tongues danced, hot and ardent, and when she pushed hers into Usagi's mouth, the sounds she made as she clasped Rei tighter to her made every muscle in Rei's abdomen clench. She squirmed, trying to turn so as much of her body was pressed against Usagi's as possible, and then made an unhappy noise as Usagi pulled back.

"Rei," she said huskily, "let's go inside before you knock us both off." It took a moment for reality to fade back in, and then Rei found herself half-leaning, half-crawling over Usagi, who was bracing herself as best she could against the slope of the roof. They scrambled to their feet, and Rei let herself be led by the hand. She couldn't trust her shaky legs; she wasn't even sure she could trust her senses. But there was no time to think – no sooner did she step gingerly through the windowsill after Usagi than she was tackled to the bed. It creaked alarmingly as Usagi landed on top of her, straddling her waist. She pushed herself onto her elbows as Usagi bent down, meeting her mouth with her own.

It was different now, somehow. The timbre of Usagi's kisses had changed, deepened from exuberant to almost frantic. She collapsed back to the bed, putting her hands to far better use running over Usagi's body. She slid them down her sides until they met bare, silky flesh right above her hips, and Usagi groaned into her mouth before suddenly pulling herself away. Rei strained forwards, trying to recapture her lips, but Usagi pushed her back gently as she sat back on her heels.

For a moment, confusion and panic flickered through Rei, but then she saw Usagi's eyes. They were heavy-lidded, shining with what she was beginning to recognize as lust. "Rei." The word sent a shiver through her, and suddenly she noticed the tendons standing out on Usagi's neck, the tension in the set of her shoulders, and she realized she was looking at a girl on the very last thread of self-control. "Rei…," she whispered again, sliding her hands under Rei's top to run fingers over the tight muscles of her stomach. Rei arched her back, exhaling in a sudden gasp as the fingers began to glide up her sides. "I need to know: do you want this, too?"

Rei struggled to refocus her eyes and catch her breath, not an easy task with Usagi's fingers stroking her torso. She watched Usagi wet her lips with a dart of her tongue, and she could see her nipples strain against the thin cotton of her pajamas as her chest rose and fell. She felt her own heart racing, and finally, she found her voice.

"More than I've ever wanted anything."

"Good." Usagi closed her eyes. She took a long, slow breath, nostrils flaring, and then bit her lip as she opened her eyes. "Very good."

Rei twisted, squeezing her eyes tight as she tried to escape a stray shaft of sunlight that had meandered across her face. She felt a gentle brush of fingers against her cheek, and half-opened her eyes.

"Hey." Usagi gazed down on her, one hand propped under her chin. She moved her hand from Rei's cheek to brush some stray hairs from her face. Her smile was as bright and warm as the sunlight that spilled into the room. She leaned forward to brush her lips softly against Rei's, her hand drifting down to wrap around her waist as she tried to snuggle in closer. She wasn't really successful – Usagi's twin-sized bed pretty much made snuggling mandatory - but Rei enjoyed her efforts. She smiled coyly as Rei tried to kiss her again, keeping her lips just out of reach. "Did you sleep okay?"

"Like a baby," Rei replied, fighting the urge to yawn. She couldn't recall falling asleep, but she could remember birds chirping and the first fingers of dawn appearing as they'd talked and cuddled.

"Oh, so I didn't keep you up snoring after all?" Usagi giggled. "How do you feel?"

"I feel wonderful," she said after a moment's pause. "But also... I don't know how to put it. Kinda... wrung out? And still a little bit in shock." Even now, if she thought objectively about the fact that she was laying in naked in Usagi's arms, it was mind-boggling.

It wasn't just that, though. Even while they made love, some small part of her had held back, curling reflexively in on itself out of fear. But those walls behind which it hid, layer upon layer of old scars and poison doubts, they were no defense against Usagi. Was this what their enemies had felt, she wondered. Usagi's love was an onslaught, relentless and irresistible, and when it cut through the last of her defenses, out had spilled everything. Not just her own confession of love, choked out between sobs while she clutched Usagi desperately, but everything. The visions of dying in Usagi's arms atop Galaxy TV that still haunted her, and nightmares of ice and cold she had sworn to herself she would never burden Usagi with. She'd vented her frustration and heartbreak over her father. Even, in the end, the blackest mark on her heart, so sharp that it hurt to speak it: the anger towards her mother for leaving her, and the fear that she would one day only remember that anger and nothing else about her.

And through it all, Usagi had held her, kissing away her tears and touching her, always touching her, running her hands across every part of her, a gentle, soothing caress that seemed to draw out her pain and sweep it away. Eventually, her tears would dry, and those touches would reignite a fire deep inside her, a burst of heat that would burn away everything but the two of them, at least for a while. Afterwards, they'd lay in each others arms, and a little more would spill from her, over and again, until finally there was nothing left. The last thing she remembered was Usagi's face smiling serenely, draped in the pale veil of dawn.

And now it was a new day. Rei had been reborn twice, and it was nothing like this. There was no weight added to her soul this time; she felt light as a feather, but also... hollow. Minako had been right, she had spent her whole life holding onto her pain, clutching it to herself, hoarding and protecting it. Now that it was excised, its absence was palpable. So not a rebirth. An exorcism, perhaps.

Usagi shrieked in surprise as Rei suddenly flipped her on to her back and straddled her thighs. She let her eyes drink in the sight of Usagi's pale nudity in the gold light of day. Usagi's cheeks were a furious crimson by the time their eyes met, and she couldn't help grinning. She lowered herself down, letting her arms encircle that perfect waist, flattening their breasts together.

"And how are you feeling? Rei asked.

"Mmm, pretty good," Usagi murmured back while she ran her hands down Rei's back. "Although, I'm kinda starving. Also, my tongue is kinda sore?"

"I can't imagine why," Rei said, bending down to kiss softly along the side of her neck. "Maybe we should make some breakfast... in a little bit." She nipped at Usagi's earlobe, causing her to sigh.

"I think you mean lunch."

Rei pushed herself up. "What do you mean?"

"I mean it's almost 1:30 in the afternoon."

Rei stared at her for a moment. When was the last time she had slept past eight? Elementary school? "Oh." She shrugged. "Well, it is what it is." She bent down and kissed Usagi on the nose. "I take it that means you're actually pretty hungry.

Usagi grinned. "If I knew I was going to spend the next fourteen hours in bed, I woulda made a bigger dinner."

"You didn't have to stay until I woke up..."

"Yeah. I did. I... wanted to be the first thing you saw when you woke up." Her smiling face turned serious. "Rei, I want to thank you for last night...it's something I've been wanting to happen for a long time." She blushed faintly. "I don't mean... not just the sex. Which was great! What I mean is…" She scrunched her nose up adorably. "I know it was hard for you to open up like that, but I'm really happy you did. Like, more than I know how to say."

Rei bent back down, resting her forehead against Usagi's. "See, stuff like this is what made me fall in love with you in the first place. But... thanks for listening."

"Any time." Her arms tightened around Rei's waist. "I love you, Rei," she whispered, blushing furiously.

"It stills feels crazy, doesn't it?" Rei murmured. Usagi nodded, biting her lip.

"I'm still kinda mad that you somehow managed to keep your feelings hidden for so long."

"Be careful what you wish for..." Rei said in what she hoped was a sultry voice. "I can show you right now, if you want..." She started planting small kisses along the lines of her jaw, until Usagi swatted her on the rear.

"Rei. Food. Fooooooood!" Usagi admonished, ignoring Rei's indignant frown. "I'll make it up to you, I promise."

"Fine," Rei sighed. She slid off of the bed and stood up on shaky legs. She stretched her arms above her head, and couldn't help jumping a little when Usagi embraced her from behind, resting her head on her shoulder.

"I'm going to have a shower," she said, kissing Rei's cheek. She strolled out of the room, shamelessly naked, only stopping to blow a kiss towards Rei before slipping out the door.

Rei shook her head to herself. Unbelievable. Then she kneeled to the floor in search of her clothes, but instead she found her phone laying on its face next to the end table, next to Usagi's alarm clock. She vaguely remembered knocking them off with her foot while... maneuvering the night before. Stupid tiny bed. She flicked it on. Usagi had been right, it was almost 1:30... oh, and here were seventeen messages and three missed calls from Minako.

She tapped the screen thoughtfully. There was no denying that, as galling as it was, Minako had been right about pretty much everything. Beyond her wildest dreams, actually. She'd definitely have to do something to thank her. But for now...

 _Sorry just got up, Usagi and I were up all night. I'll call you after we've gotten cleaned up_

There, let her chew on that for a while.

"Rei." She looked up from her phone to see Usagi's head peaking around the door frame. "I'm _having_ a _shower_ ," she said slowly, giving Rei an expectant look.

It took an embarrassingly long time for Rei to understand, but once she did, she scrambled to her feet. Usagi's head disappeared, and she dashed after her into the hall with a happy laugh, the rest of the world, for now, forgotten.

* * *

Author's Notes

Oh, cool, I deleted all my old chapter notes by accident! That's _awesome!_

Well, suffice it to say, thanks for reading! If you have an inkling, please feel free to leave a review!

As previously noted, the full, unadulterated version of this story is available on AO3, under the pseud **balambfish**. It's quality smut that, to be frank, you shouldn't miss out on!

9 out of 10 Rei's agree!

Peace,

BF


	3. Milestone 2 - Feasibility and Scoping

**Project: Venus**

Milestone 2 – Feasibility and Scoping

There it was again. Dammit.

The expressway blurred as Haruka sped up, pulling out and around a shabby-looking `93 Beat in a single smooth arc. She gave it a once-over as she passed. Rust had bubbled the red paint behind its front wheel well, and the idiot didn't even have the top down. What a waste.

It was an idle assessment; most of her attention was on the tach, and the vibration of the gas pedal beneath her bare foot. She shifted up into fifth and held her breath. Yup, there it was again, right around 2700 RPM. It was short, but through her sole she could feel the purr of her Toyota's engine break into a shudder for a split second. Shit.

She and Matsuo had been tinkering with valve timing all week, trying to chase this down, and she was sure they'd finally nailed it. Her fingers drummed on the steering wheel in irritation as she pulled onto the off-ramp. Obviously, the overlap was still too wide, just like Matsuo'd said. Now she was never going to hear the end of it.

Of course, she _could_ just ignore it. She hadn't been able to feel it when she'd left the shop, but she'd been wearing shoes then. And, yes, a certain amount of shudder was inevitable in a classic car. She mulled it over, paying scant attention as she wove through residential traffic. Maybe she'd bring it back in on Monday. They'd have to pull the whole engine to adjust the valve overlap. Again. And Matsuo would give her another spiel about that VVT mod he'd been pushing on her for months. Again.

She tried to put it from her mind as she pulled over, rolling up to the curb. It had been a few months, but after giving the girls rides home for a whole year, she could still easily find her way to Minako's house with only muscle memory. She grabbed the pair of white-and-gold pumps from the passenger seat – only an idiot would try to drive a manual transmission wearing three-inch heels, after all – and slid them on. For a moment she considered going up and knocking on the door, but that idea was quickly discarded; if they saw her in this dress, there would no escaping her parents' interrogation. Mrs. Aino found Haruka fascinating for reasons she didn't fathom, and her husband would happily talk her ear off about baseball until the sun set if she let him.

No, instead she dug her phone out of the tiny matching purse. The whole ensemble – dress, shoes and purse – were "on loan" from Setsuna's new collection. Setsuna had practically begged Haruka to model them for her; in fact, this date was the only reason Hotaru was stuck in Beijing instead of her, for which she was eminently thankful. Instead, she had promised to "go out, get seen, and look fabulous", which was maybe only slightly less onerous. But, a deal was a deal.

There was a single message waiting for her from Michiru, telling her to have fun. It was only a few minutes old; she always slept in ridiculously late on the weekends if Haruka wasn't there to prod her out of bed. Smiling to herself, she sent a quick message to Minako letting her know she'd arrived, and then stepped out of the car. She took a few experimental steps in the heels but found she had little trouble with them, even if the height was a little disorienting. God forbid she should wear flats, of course. Setsuna, in her best Guardian-of-Time deadpan, had promised that she would find out if she did.

She leaned against her car, trying unsuccessfully to fan herself with her purse. In this heat, she was grateful to be wearing something light, even if her bare shoulders made her feel like she was wrapped in a sheet and not much else. Hmm. She hadn't really noticed the heat with the top down; hopefully she hadn't burnt her neck or shoulders on the way here...

The sound of a door closing snapped her out of her musings. She quickly slung the purse over her shoulder and ran her fingers through her hair, a nervous habit.

"Good evening, ladies," she called to them as they passed through the gates. They stopped shock-still as they caught sight of her, Rei's mouth actually dropping open. She felt the urge to strut a little and decided to roll with it. She had to admit, the dress felt quite lovely as it swished over her legs in time with her stride. "What do you think? I'm giving it a test drive as a favor to Setsuna."

Minako made a show of looking her up and down, so Haruka felt it was only fair to do the same. That tight blue dress, with its little ruffled neck, had Michiru's fingerprints all over it, as did those white silk stockings. Rei's purple ruffled blouse and black skirt were no different, if less calculated to appeal to her own tastes. Michiru did love her ruffles.

Minako let out a low whistle. "Lean back against the car again, I want to get a picture. This lighting is perfect." Haruka leaned back and grinned. So much for not modelling. "Mmhmm... raise your right knee, I wanna see some of that leg." Haruka complied with a laugh as Minako snapped a few shots with her phone. "Man, Michiru is gonna be so jealous when she sees these." That was true enough – she'd sent a picture of herself to Michiru after she'd first gotten dressed, and she'd been... florid... with her praise. She had to struggle not to blush at the thought.

"Let me know how things go, okay? If I don't hear from you, I'll assume the best!" Minako said to Rei, giving her a quick hug before bouncing over to the passenger door. Haruka followed suit, kicking her shoes back off as she sat down. She had to resist the urge to rub her feet - this was going to be a long night if these shoes were pinching already. They waved goodbye to Rei, and Minako blew a kiss back to her as they pulled away from the curb. Rei didn't move, but just watched them drive away with a grim expression on her face.

"What's up with Rei?" she asked. "She looks like she's marching off to battle."

Minako made a dismissive motion with her hands. "I'll tell you all about it at dinner. Right now, let's talk about that dress!"

From the corner of her eye, she could see Minako squirming in her seat. "What are you doing?"

Minako had scrunched herself as far as she could against the car door, and her head and shoulders leaned precariously out of the open top. Her hair whipped in the air stream as she held her phone up. "Look at the road and try to look broody!" she shouted over the wind.

Haruka frowned. Broody?

"Perfect!" Minako slid back into her seat, her dress riding up high enough for Haruka to glimpse the frilly tops of her stockings - definitely Michiru's handiwork. "It must drive Setsuna nuts that you aren't modelling it for her."

"Maybe a little." She flashed Minako a smile. "But, thanks to you, Hotaru is stuck modelling it instead of me."

Minako smiled back. "All it took was a little begging. Of course, in exchange I promised to get a million pictures of you in it, so prepare yourself. I assume Hotaru is wearing the black line?"

Haruka arched an eyebrow. "Have you seen it already? It's supposed to be a big secret, I thought. Setsuna practically made me sign an NDA just to wear this dress."

"I snuck a peak at her sketches a few weeks ago."

"You must enjoy taking your life into your own hands," Haruka laughed. She heard an electronic chirp and glanced over. Minako's attention was already on her phone.

"Setsuna says, 'Dress looks great, but I told her to drive the Miata, the GT looks like a school bus in that lighting.'"

"School bus?" Haruka bristled. "A car is not a fashion accessory! Doesn't she have a show to direct?"

"Oh, sweet, naïve Haruka," Minako replied with a consoling pat on the shoulder. "I think they're an hour behind there."

"Hmph."

"I'm sure she's just jealous." She ran a teasing finger down Haruka's arm. "After all, you have a hot date, while she's stuck babysitting Hotaru and a bunch of snobby fashion snobs."

Haruka grinned. "That's very true." She swung out, gunning the engine to pass a pair of delivery trucks that were barely going the speed limit. Beside her, Minako closed her eyes and drew her hair off of her back with both hands, letting it flow behind her in the wind like a comet's tail.

"So, where am I going here? I've just kinda been driving in circles. Do we have a reservation somewhere?" Haruka said casually. It was immensely satisfying to see Minako's eyes pop open and watch her stare ahead into empty space for a solid five seconds. Eventually, she lolled her head to the side to give Haruka a miffed look.

"You had me there for a second. Jerk."

Haruka only grinned wider.

"See anything you might like?"

Minako's eyes had gone wide when she first picked up her menu, and they'd stayed that way for the last few minutes. Her lips moved silently as she read. Haruka could empathize; after four years with Michiru she had gradually been desensitized to sticker shock, but Sant Pau was not cheap, even by mid-town Tokyo standards.

"Umm... do you have any recommendations? I... don't know what most of these ingredients are."

"Don't worry, I usually just pick whatever has meat in it I recognize and hope for the best."

Minako laughed. "So, underneath that cool exterior, you're as uncultured as me? That's a relief." She glanced around the room. "I have to admit, I was worried we'd be surrounded by couples in tuxedos and ballroom gowns."

Haruka had been, too, to be honest. She'd chosen a Mediterranean restaurant in the hopes that it might have a more casual atmosphere, and thankfully it had paid off. They were the youngest couple there by far, though, and that was definitely earning them a few odd looks, but thankfully Minako didn't seem to notice or care. "I didn't think that something too fancy would be your scene."

"Well, it's beautiful. Do you guys come here often?"

"Actually, this is my first time here, too." Haruka replied. "Well… sort of. This place has a sister restaurant outside of Barcelona that I went to once while I was in Spain last year for the F1 Grand Prix. I've been meaning to check it out for a while."

"Is that so?" Minako beamed in obvious pleasure. "I'm extra glad I could join you, then." She brushed her fingers softly against Haruka's for a moment before straightening suddenly.

Their waiter appeared beside the table as if from air. "Do you ladies need a few more minutes?"

"No, I think we're ready?" She glanced at Minako, who gave her a little nod.

"Wonderful." He turned expectantly to Minako.

Her brow furrowed adorably. "Umm, I'll have the pork... esu…kabe..."

"The pork _escabeche_ , an excellent choice, miss." His attention rotated to Haruka as Minako breathed a sigh of relief.

"I'll have... the ox-tail _escudella_ , and a house salad, please. Can you recommend a wine?"

"I'll send our sommelier over forthwith, miss." He made a short bow before quickly striding away. Minako bit her lip, looking excited.

The sommelier, a narrow-faced, serious-looking man, wasted little time. "Good evening to you, ladies," he began with a gracious smile as he swept up to the table. "For your pleasure this evening, I have an excellent `06 Torres Grans Muralles that would pair beautifully with both of your meals. It is a Catalan _garnacha_ , with floral and pomegranate notes, a firm, but lively palate, and a long finish."

"That sounds lovely, thank you." The sommelier bustled away, and Haruka turned back to find Minako grinning.

"I won't lie, that was pretty damn hot," she said.

Haruka chuckled. "I usually just order whatever the staff recommends..."

"Haruka!" Minako swatted at her hand, a fake pout on her lips. "Don't ruin my fantasy!"

"Sorry!" Haruka laughed, playfully trying to fend her off. She managed to catch Minako's hand, and she drew it closer, letting her thumb stroke the top of it in slow circles. She leaned forward, resting her chin on her other palm. "Have I told you how beautifully that dress sets off your eyes? I've never seen anything so blue," she said in a low voice.

Minako stared at her, a flush slowly staining her cheeks red. "Go on," she said coyly.

Her response was a wink as she let go of Minako's hand and sat back up straight, just as the sommelier returned with two glasses. After he had poured and excused himself, Minako sat back, her arms crossed under her breasts. She opened her mouth as if to speak, but instead she just sighed. She picked up her wineglass and swirled it absently, staring into its dark cherry depths.

Haruka took a small sip of her wine, biting back a wince with long-practiced effort. How anyone could enjoy red wine was beyond her; she much preferred a chilled, sweet white if she had a choice, but Michiru had trained her too well to order a white with red meat. She watched, hiding her smile in her glass, as Minako took a swallow and made the most exquisite grimace.

"How is it?" she asked innocently, fighting not to laugh as Minako tried to compose herself.

"It's great," Minako said in a tight voice. "You can really taste the... notes."

Haruka tried to stifle her amusement with a charming smile and gently clinked their glasses together. "Cheers." She forced herself to take another sip, and Minako did the same, shuddering visibly.

"So," Haruka said briskly, setting her wineglass down perhaps a little further from herself than necessary.

"So?"

"I can't help wondering something."

Minako leaned forward, her index finger toying idly with her lower lip. "Ask away."

"Setsuna had been hounding me for weeks to go to Beijing with her, and then, out of a blue sky, she says she's bringing Hotaru instead. And then, not even an hour later, I get a call from you, asking me out on a 'fancy date'." Or more accurately, goading _her_ into asking Minako out, which seemed to be an important distinction.

Minako's face was a study of wide-eyed innocence. "I know, it was very convenient timing!"

"Wasn't it, though?" She smiled. "On a completely unrelated note, did you know that the Bunkamura Museum of Art is holding special closed viewings this weekend? Some kind of European Renaissance exhibit. Botticelli, I think?"

"Oh, that sounds like fun..."

"Yeah, but tickets sold out months ago. I bet you'd need some serious connections to get in there with, say, a few days' notice. By the way, what do you think Makoto and Ami are up to tonight?"

Minako cocked her head to the side thoughtfully. "You know, I'm really not sure." Haruka could see the muscles of her cheek twitch as she took a long swallow from her wine, trying to hide her face. Haruka couldn't help snorting at the curdled expression on her face when she put the glass down, and Minako started half-laughing, half-choking.

"Should I ask if there's a doctor in the house?" Haruka teased.

Minako glared at her as she caught her breath, and Haruka flagged down a waiter to bring them some water. "Fine, you win," she said after she'd cleared her throat. "I assume Michiru told you what's going on?"

Ahh, that explained the tickets then. But not the secrecy... playing games wasn't Michiru's style. She'd very explicitly given Haruka carte blanche for this date, and it was obvious that Minako had consulted with her on a few things, too. She'd been vocal in her anticipation of this evening; could she have simply been working behind the scenes to make sure they had no interruptions?

"I take it that's a 'no'," Minako said with a satisfied air.

Haruka crossed her arms. "This seems like a lot of effort just to get me alone."

"Oooh, so close," Minako said, pursing her lips. "I guess Michiru _can_ keep a secret."

Now that was intriguing. "So, you admit you have an ulterior motive? I had no idea you were such a schemer."

Minako reached out and drew her finger lazily down the inside of Haruka's wrist. "Ahhhh, my dear, sweet Haruka," she drawled. "You _are_ the ulterior motive."

The _escudella_ was as good the one she'd had in Sant Pol de Mar, with a simple, rich flavor that reminded her of her mother's cooking. She set down her spoon with a sigh of contentment and finished off the last of her wine. Across from her, Minako was just polishing off her second glass – she and the Grans Muralles had reconciled their differences midway through the main course. She didn't seem to be much the worse for it, although a pair of red spots bloomed in her cheeks. She'd finished her meal long before Haruka, but had seemed to be content alternating between watching Haruka eat, which was a little strange, and watching her phone impatiently from the corner of her eye.

"Alright," Minako announced suddenly. She placed her now-empty glass back on the table just a little too hard. "Hypothetical question." She leaned forward over the table, and Haruka found herself doing the same. "How did you confess your feelings to Michiru?"

She had to laugh. "That's... not a hypothetical question, but okay." She leaned back and ran her fingers through her hair. "Let's see… it was, what, two weeks after we beat the Death Busters? Three? Anyways, we'd been driving up the coast, just kinda hopping from city to city, trying to finally relax. We were staying in a little seaside hotel outside of Sendai, and the first night there, Michiru kissed me out of the blue."

"Out of the blue?" Minako's voice was skeptical.

Haruka chuckled to herself. "Well, it seemed like it at the time. I mean, I thought I had feelings for her, but we'd put all of that aside while we looked for the Talismans. And after we won... I don't know. We never expected to come out of it alive, I think. And then somehow we won and... and part of me couldn't accept it, you know? Like a muscle that you've clenched for so long that your body can't remember how to relax it. Anyways, Michiru claims she'd been dropping hints for weeks, and she finally got so fed up that she took matters into her own hands. I guess I've got kind of a blind spot when it comes to that stuff."

"I'll keep that in mind," Minako said with a sly smile.

"I-"

"Hold on!" yelled Minako suddenly. Flatware jumped as her palm crashed onto the table, and Haruka winced as curious faces turned their way. "Does this mean that when we first met you in the arcade you were technically single?"

"I guess so, technically."

"I could have asked you out!" she exclaimed, pointing an accusing finger at Haruka.

"Yeah, and made Michiru an enemy for life," Haruka laughed. "She wouldn't have stood aside for that back then."

Minako sagged back into her seat, an expression of mock anguish on her face. "What a cruel joke to play on the innocent girls of the world!"

Haruka reached over and patted her hand. "There, there. It all worked out in the end, right? Besides, you probably wouldn't have had the guts to ask a girl out in front of everyone. What would people have said?" she teased.

Minako paused her dramatics and glared at her. "Oh, is that so? First off, my parents would be _overjoyed_ if I brought you home. My dad thinks you're the son he never had, and my mom is basically in love with you." She raised an eyebrow when Haruka snorted. "You think I'm joking, but if she'd seen you in that dress, she'd probably be sitting in this chair right now, and I'd be tied up in my closet or something."

"Like mother, like daughter, I guess."

"And _second_ ," Minako continued in a louder voice, "I've had just as many girlfriends as you have, thank you very much."

Minako Aino had a secret girlfriend and never said a word to anyone? That sounded like bullshit, and she said as much.

"Well, it's true," Minako said primly. "It didn't last long, but it still counts." She jabbed her finger in Haruka's face. "It's a one-one tie!" she shouted.

"Alright, easy there," Haruka chuckled, nudging the offending digit gently away. She flagged down a passing waiter. "Can we get two _cafés cortados_ , please?"

"Coffee?" Minako said warily.

"You always finish a meal like this with coffee." She couldn't remember if that was actually true, but maybe it would... level Minako out a little. "Anyways, let's hear about this secret girlfriend of yours."

Minako shifted in her seat, looking uneasy. "Look, it's still technically a secret, okay? Not by my choice, but I agreed, and I'm not going to break a promise."

"I'll be the very soul of discretion," Haruka replied solemnly.

"Alright, well... there isn't much to tell, really. She was a year below me, she confessed to me at the start of spring, and I'd never gone out with a girl, so I thought, what the hell."

"How romantic."

Minako stuck out her tongue. "Hey, I know you've gotten confessions before. They aren't as romantic as TV and manga make them out to be."

Now it was Haruka's turn to shift uncomfortably. In her last year of school, it seemed like every few weeks that some poor thing who didn't get the memo about her and Michiru would corner her in a breezeway or a change room and stutter out her undying admiration while a knot of anxious friends hovered nearby. At least boys just bowed, handed you a love letter, and ran for their lives. At least, according to Michiru.

"Anyways," Minako said, smiling at Haruka's discomfort, "she was cute, and I was up for something new. She was terrified about someone finding out, though, especially her parents. I thought it might be romantic, at first. You know, a secret romance! But it really just means lying to all of your friends. A lot."

"Well, not everyone has the luxury of supportive friends and family, Minako," she chided gently.

"Yeah... I know," Minako sighed. "I just couldn't live my life that way. We broke up over the spring break. Twenty-three days - a personal best!" Her fingers fidgeted as she stared at the space in front of her morosely, leaving Haruka wracking her brain to change the subject. She was saved, at least briefly, by the arrival of their coffees. She sipped hers slowly. Hopefully it wouldn't keep her up all night. Minako peered at hers suspiciously before doing the same.

There was one low-hanging fruit that she knew Minako wouldn't be able to resist. "So... did you guys have sex?"

It was almost too easy. Minako got a playful glint in her eye. "Why do you think I pushed my parents to take a trip for their anniversary?" she replied. "Eri was shy, but in private she was very affectionate."

"Eri..." How many first-years named Eri were there that year? "Eri... Sugiyama? Brunette, short hair, in Class 1-6? I think she was in the film club... she used to watch your volleyball practices sometimes."

"No, _you_ used to watch me practice sometimes. Eri came to every practice. At least if I was there," Minako sighed. An annoyed look crossed her face. "So much for my little secret. Is there a single girl at school you didn't know?"

"I'm a people person," Haruka declared with a grin. "Don't worry, my lips are sealed."

"Well... thanks."

Haruka took another sip of her coffee. "So, speaking of secrets..."

Minako grinned into her demitasse as she took a sip as well. "Figured it out yet?"

"I... no, not really." She'd spent most of dinner wrestling with Minako's teasing hints, but puzzles were not her really forte. "Are you going to make me guess?"

Minako sat up straight, looking very pleased. "I can't believe Michiru hasn't told you anything. This is exciting!" She took on a lecturing tone. "Alright, let's see if you can work it out. First, what's today?"

"Uhh, Friday?"

"Yeeees," Minako said patiently. "But what else? I'll give you a hint: Usagi has been talking about it for the last month."

"Oh, of course. Her family's vacation started today."

"...and?"

"And..." Haruka furled her brow. "Did you and Michiru somehow kidnap Mamoru from America and sneak him over there?"

"You're on the right track, but also completely wrong" Minako said cheerfully. "And anyways, Mr. Chiba is in my bad books right now."

After watching Usagi mope for the last six months, Haruka was inclined to agree. "Fair enough. Okay, so you've managed to keep Usagi alone tonight by systematically diverting all of her friends with various schemes-"

"A single brilliant scheme, thank you."

"-with a single brilliant scheme, so that you can... throw her a surprise party?" Haruka finished hesitantly.

Minako's reply was a flat look of disbelief. "I honestly can't tell if you are being serious."

"I am!" she protested. She could feel her cheeks turning red.

"If this date ends with us going to Usagi's house and eating cake or something, I will be very disappointed," Minako warned. "Anyway, you're forgetting a key piece of the puzzle. Who isn't accounted for?"

Haruka ran through names in her head. It didn't take long to remember Rei's bleak expression in the rear-view mirror, and a few pieces fell into place. "Wait, are you doing all this just so Rei and Usagi will hang out alone together? They do that all the time."

"You'd think so, right? But, they really don't. Maybe coffee or something once in a while, but we almost always hang out as a group." She rubbed her hands together in glee. "No, this requires something a little more... intimate."

Haruka's eyes widened. "Whoa, is she actually going to go for it?" If so, it was about damn time.

"Aww, Michiru did tell you!" Minako pouted.

"What? No," Haruka said. "I mean, it's obvious if you watch the two of them together."

"Right?" Minako said excitedly. "God, it drives me crazy sometimes! It's like, just make out already!"

Haruka couldn't help smiling at her enthusiasm. "But, why now? Rei's always struck me as more the 'yearn in quiet desperation' type."

"Omigod, you. Have. No. Idea. I get putting duty before your own feelings - we both do, right? - but Rei puts _everything_ before her feelings." She shook her head. "Well, this summer is the last vacation we have before school is over. I... don't know what's going to happen to us when it's done, but things will change." A pained look flitted across her face, gone in an instant. "So, I recruited Michiru to help... move things along."

Haruka nodded slowly. "I can picture it now: you do the hard sell, and Michiru does the soft sell, and wouldn't it be a shame if all of these fancy clothes and makeup and whatever went to waste?"

"Well, it worked on you, didn't it?" Minako said, batting her eyelashes.

There was certainly no denying that. "So, do you think she'll actually go through with it?"

Cupping her coffee in both hands, Minako tipped back on her chair. "I think so? I did my best to light a fire under her, if you, uh... know what I mean." Haruka rolled her eyes. "She's going over there with all of the encouragement and great advice and sexy underwear I could load her up with. If she doesn't, well, I have three weeks to figure something out."

"That's true." Michiru was right, Minako had obviously put a lot of effort into this little plan of hers. "The big question is: does Usagi feel the same way?"

Leaning even farther back on her chair, Minako took a considering sip from her cup. "That's the question, alright. I mean, yeah, we hear all about it when things with Mamoru are going good, but she only talks to Rei when things are bad. If Rei looks really stressed out, it's usually a pretty good indication that they're fighting again."

Haruka frowned into her cup. "That's a pretty awful situation to put yourself in."

"Welcome to being secretly in love with your best friend," Minako said with a tight smile. Haruka shook her head. No thanks. "So, yeah, I honestly don't know if Usagi would return her feelings, or if she'd actually act on them even if she did," Minako continued. "Remember what happened with Seiya?"

Haruka made a noncommittal grunt by way of reply.

"Oh, c'mon, Usagi could've done much worse. Anyway! I think worst-case scenario: Usagi lets her down easy, and Rei has a chance to get some closure, even if it's not the way she wanted."

"I'm guessing you weren't this... realistic when you were getting Rei pumped up for this?"

Minako smiled. "Of course not, but Rei isn't stupid. If she thought this was a slam dunk she would've done it a long time ago. I just wanted to make sure she knew she was loved and supported no matter what she does. I mean, don't get me wrong, I'd be overjoyed if they got together and, I don't know, eloped to Canada or something. But, a good plan needs to account for all contingencies."

"Like dyeing your hair and changing your name? Because that's what you'd have to do if Usagi's mom found out you were even slightly responsible for her daughter eloping," Haruka said with a laugh.

They spent the next little while debating the best way for Rei to confess while finishing their coffees. It was surprisingly fun to speculate - Haruka made a point of not meddling in other peoples' personal lives, but she could see why Minako got so excited about it. One thing was abundantly clear, though: Minako had put a _lot_ of thought into this. For every half-joking suggestion Haruka made, she was ready with a handful of observations and critiques. It certainly put the circumstances around this date into a new light; she was beginning to appreciate how artfully she had been danced into it.

She finally called for the check when some of the flush had left Minako's cheeks, although the caffeine seemed to have only energized her even more. When it arrived, she placed the shiny black-and-gold Credit Suisse card onto its patent leather cover, deliberately not looking at the bill. Technically, it was Michiru's card, but she had insisted that Haruka use it. No doubt she got a kick out of the thought of using her parents' money to have her girlfriend take another girl on a date. Haruka shook her head to herself.

She pretended not to notice when Minako slid the check presenter slowly towards herself and snuck a peek inside, and fought the urge to chuckle as she slid slowly back, her eyes wide. She signed the credit slip with a deliberate flourish and stood up. She swayed for a moment, having forgotten she was in heels, but managed to hide it with a sweeping bow. "Shall we head out, my lady?" Haruka asked with exaggerated formality, extending her hand. Minako took it with a beaming smile.

"But of course!"

It took a moment for Minako to notice they had finally stopped, and Haruka smiled as she looked around in confusion. She had spent most of the drive to their destination with her eyes glued to her phone, not that Haruka minded. With the top down you couldn't have much a conversation, and she found comfortable silence infinitely preferable to trying to yell over the wind.

"Con…stan...cia?" read Minako slowly off the building's awning. "Is this another restaurant?"

"Don't tell me you're still hungry?" Haruka laughed. She shut off the ignition and slipped her heels back on before vaulting nimbly over the car door.

"What is it, then?"

"I thought we'd continue the Spanish theme with something a little more… upbeat," she said coyly as she strode around to the passenger door. Minako's eyes widened, a look of dawning comprehension plain on her face.

"Ohhhhh! I thought that place was Italian!" she exclaimed. "I was wondering why there was no pasta on the menu!"

"An easy mistake to make," Haruka said carefully, trying not to laugh.

"I kinda thought we were, you know, just driving around…"

Haruka opened the passenger door and extended her hand. "Ah, but the night is still young, _mi querida_."

Even in the dark she could see Minako's eyes light up. She took Haruka's hand and let herself be pulled from the car. Pressing herself gently against Haruka's torso, she whispered huskily, "Say something else."

Looking into Minako's eyes, Haruka hesitated only a split second. " _Qué camino a la autopista_ ," she murmured softly, brushing her fingers across Minako's cheek and praying that she didn't ask for a translation. She felt the other girl shiver slightly before drawing back and taking a deep breath.

"Let's go inside before I do something I won't regret," she quipped, fanning herself with one hand.

Their destination wasn't much to look at on the outside – in the dark, its concrete façade was indistinguishable from every storefront on the block, with only a narrow red and yellow awning marking it out – but Haruka knew where she was going. Behind the rickety wooden door was a long narrow staircase leading down. She led Minako by the hand, trying not to think about one of her heels breaking and sending her tumbling down. The stairs ended at another door lit by a single buzzing yellow lamp, the walls around it plastered with notices and flyers and graffiti. The door was painted red and yellow, like the awning outside, and written across the top in elaborate, flowing script was a single word: CONSTANCIA.

A glance showed Minako practically bouncing on her toes, her hands clasped in front of her heart in anticipation. Haruka could feel the bass through the brass handle as she pulled the door open, and she nearly stumbled as Minako dashed past her eagerly. Music washed over her as soon as she stepped over the threshold, and she blinked a few times, trying to find Minako's shape in the sudden darkness. It didn't take long.

"It's... some kind of Spanish cosplay café!" she exclaimed as Haruka walked up behind her. The floor in front of them was packed with couples dressed in bright, garishly colorful clothes.

Haruka laughed. "Not quite, it's a Latin dance club. But, they do flamenco on Fridays, and I... thought it might be fun."

"It's amazing! I wish you'd told me, though. We could have dressed up, too! I have a costume that would have been perfect..."

A woman brushed past Haruka, murmuring an apology. Her hair was pinned up in an elaborate bun on one side of her head with a carnation tucked into it, and her dress was a solid mass of black and red ruffles from the waist down. Even her sleeves were ruffled. Michiru would have been in heaven. "That... might be putting the cart before the horse a bit. Besides, it was supposed to be a secret."

"Wait, do you know how to dance like this? Are you a closet flamingo dancer?" Minako demanded.

"I don't know about that, but I can show you how to do a basic rumba or tango." Haruka said with a grin.

"I had you pegged as more of a ballroom dancer."

Haruka shrugged. "Well, sure, but that's what happens when you live with a classical musician," she replied. "But there's nothing wrong with trying something new once in a while."

Taking Haruka's hand in hers, Minako did a quick self-twirl that ended with her pressed up tight against Haruka's body. She wrapped her arms languidly around Haruka's neck and pulled herself up on her toes. "I'm glad we're both on the same page." Her voice was barely audible above the music, but the fire in her eyes gave Haruka a split-second's warning before she darted forward, sealing her mouth against Haruka's. Minako kissed the way she did everything else: playful and earnest, teasing-but-maybe-not-really-teasing. It lasted only a few seconds before Minako broke away with a final brush of her tongue across Haruka's lips.

"God, you're tall in these shoes," she said, biting her lip. Haruka opened her mouth to reply, but Minako put a finger to her lips. "C'mon, let's dance!" Haruka had little choice but to let herself be led onto the dance floor, where the house band was just beginning a new set. They found an empty space amongst the other couples, and she noted with surprise how many were in full costume. There hadn't been nearly so many when she'd come to scope this place out last week. She cocked an ear as the young man sitting at the conga began to drum out a slow rhythm. Perfect.

Minako's eyes widened as she was yanked forward. Haruka placed Minako's left hand on her shoulder, and placed her own right hand in the small of Minako's back, pulling their hips together. "This is the _rumba flamenca_ ," she said into her partner's ear as she laced the fingers of their free hands together. "It's nice and slow, so it's a good place to start. We're going to take six steps together, moving in a square, and then turn to my left. Ready?" Minako nodded quickly, her face flushed adorably.

They started slow, but Minako was light on her feet, and she had no problem picking up the simple box steps. Haruka may have been leading, but it was Minako who egged her into trying some of the more advanced moves the couples around them were doing: mostly twirls and fans, although Minako nearly sent them both crashing to the floor with a surprise dip. After that, they took a break. Haruka grabbed them both some water and they leaned back to watch the other couples swirl and glide across the dance floor.

"See, _I'm_ supposed to dip _you_ ," Haruka said, gesturing to a couple in front of them with her bottle. "You don't just... go limp."

"It all worked out," Minako replied nonchalantly, a smile on her face as she tapped away on her phone. "I knew you'd catch me."

Haruka wasn't sure how to respond to that, so she simply took another swig of her water. "Who are you messaging?" she asked finally.

"Hmm? Oh, pretty much everyone. Sorry, I just have a lot of plays in the air right now."

"...plays?"

"You know, like in volleyball."

"I... see... Any word from Rei?"

Minako sighed and dropped her phone back into her purse. "Nothing. On the other hand, I haven't gotten any sobbing voicemails from her either, so hopefully that's a good sign."

"Alright, do you want -"

Minako cut her off with a hand on her arm. "Wow, look at them go!" she said excitedly, pointing to one of the couples. Haruka recognized the woman in the red and black dress from earlier. Her partner was done up similarly: tight black pants worked with sprawling red piping, and a short black jacket worn open over a ruffled red shirt that was open almost to his naval. She felt herself nodding in approval – ruffles notwithstanding, there was something about that Spanish flair that really called to her. Maybe not in red, though.

Years of judo had given her an eye for physical form, and the pair's experience was obvious. They moved in perfect sync, with so many daring flourishes that the basic steps of the rumba were barely identifiable. She heard Minako gasp next to her and the hand on her arm tightened as the pair performed a daring dip. Her eyes widened as the woman, instead of leaning back, sank into an effortless, perfect split, her dressing pooling around her spread legs like a circle of flame.

"Wow... maybe I shouldn't have worn such a tight dress," Minako said wonderingly. She gave Haruka a cheeky smile. "You're pretty flexible, right? I bet you could do the splits in your dress. Maybe I should lead for a while?"

To her annoyance, Haruka felt herself blush. "Not without half an hour of stretching..." After wearing these heels all night, her hamstrings were probably as taut as piano wire.

Her embarrassment only egged Minako on, of course. "Actually, I changed my mind, I don't have your core strength. We'd probably just end up in a tangle on the floor," she said with an exaggerated wink. Haruka finished her water in a single long gulp, hoping to cool the fire in her cheeks. This girl...

She stood up just as the band struck up another song, this one a little faster. Minako squeaked as she reached down and pulled her to her feet. "Come on, you'll like this one!" The lead guitar began to strum harder, picking up the pace as the other instruments came in one by one.

"This is the _tango flamenco_ ," she said, just above the music. Minako's eyes popped as she pulled her into a tight closed position, hip snug against hip.

"Why, hello," Minako murmured, barely audible. Haruka gave her her most charming smile.

"Alright, this arm out like this, the other one up on mine... good. We're gonna start with five steps, nice and easy to start..."

"Shouldn't you have a rose in your mouth or something?"

Haruka laughed. "Not really my style, I'm afraid. Now, just follow my lead. Five steps... we're gonna go slow... slow... fast-fast... slow. That's it! Slow... slow... fast-fast... and this time we're going to sssssweep it in on the last step." As before, Minako picked the steps up about ten times faster than Haruka had.

"So when do we give each other sexy, smouldering looks?" Minako asked eagerly.

"Um, whenever there's a good break in the rhythm, I guess. I assume there's some coordination involved."

"Okay, well, feel free to practice on me as much as you need," said Minako, batting her eyelashes.

Minako had certainly been getting her practice, because she spent the next hour staring at Haruka with brazen bedroom eyes as they danced. She vainly tried to instruct her that most of the tango was supposed to be spent looking past your partner, but Minako would only give an idle, "Mmhmm," without breaking eye contact. The only thing she could think to do was meet Minako stare for stare, but the other girl just seemed to drink it up. When the set finally finished, she was feeling a little lightheaded as they retired back to their table.

"You alright? You're looking a little flushed," Minako teased.

Haruka leaned back into the booth, kicking off her shoes and wriggling her toes. "Yeah, someone's dancing me into the ground out there."

"Well, conserve your strength, you never know when you might need it." She waggled her eyebrows suggestively, but Haruka only rolled her eyes. Suddenly, she cocked her head to the side.

"What?"

"My phone's buzzing," Minako said as she fished it from her purse. "Ooh, it's from Rei! ...Omigod, she's staying the night! Yes!" More than a few heads turned their way as her cheer rang out across the club.

"Wow, you sure taught her well, huh?"

"Apparently so." She stared at the phone's screen for a moment, tapping her chin thoughtfully. "I mean, it's not really _that_ big of a surprise. As soon as Usagi realized that she was going to have to stay in that big, empty house alone, it was basically inevitable."

"True," Haruka conceded.

"But, when opportunity knocks, you have to open a window!"

"As they say."

"She just needs a little encouragement!" Minako stood from her chair, every line of her body radiating determination. "Do you mind if I run outside for a sec and give her a call?"

"Of course not. Hell, I could use some air, too." She shook her head as Minako dashed off, already holding her phone to her ear. Picking up Minako's purse from where she'd left it slung over the back of her chair, she followed.

Somehow it was still warmer outside than in the club, and it only got worse once she reached the top of the stairs. She could hear Minako's excited chatter even before she pushed through the door onto the street, fanning herself ineffectually with her purse.

"Don't worry, me and Haruka have been brainstorming all night about this," Minako said. She caught sight of Haruka and waved silently. "First off, if the opportunity arises, we both agree you are going to have to make the first move. We just can't see Usagi doing it."

Haruka nodded to herself. Definitely not. Minako mouthed a 'thank you' as she passed over her purse.

"Second, if you do make a move, your intentions need to be absolutely clear. No talking around it in circles, no just holding her hand."

Haruka leaned against the car and watched Minako pace in a tight circle, one arm crossed tight under her breasts as she held the phone to her ear. Her face, harshly lit by the streetlamp above them, was a mask of fierce focus.

"Third, and this is a big one, when you do finally get your feelings out there, just... stop talking afterwards." She stopped in her tracks, and turned to look at Haruka. "It's like... how can I put this..."

Haruka leaned forward and reached out her hand. "Lemme talk to her."

"…actually, here." Minako passed the phone over with a grateful smile.

"Uh, hi," Haruka began lamely.

"Hi?" It was weird to hear Rei's voice over the phone. She'd really only ever heard it over their communicators before.

"Sorry, I bet the last thing you wanted is more people sticking their noses into your personal life, but this is kinda outside of Minako's wheelhouse." Minako frowned at that, but said nothing. "Now, I bet a pretty, mysterious girl like you has gotten a few confessions, am I right? Some first-year corners you in the locker room or the bathroom or something, and stammers out her undying love?"

Rei didn't respond, so she went on. "And then, before you can even respond they start babbling an apology, or pretend to laugh it off as a joke, or just start tearing up. They get themselves all worked up, but all you can do..."

"…Is feel bad for them," Rei finished in a leaden tone.

Haruka smiled. "Exactly. So what you do, is: you say your piece, and you wait. You let the moment breathe."

Rei was silent again, but Haruka could hear her breathing. Finally, she said, "Yeah. Yeah...okay." Another pause, and another shaky breath. "Oh God, I'm actually going to do this, aren't I?"

"Listen, Rei… for whatever it's worth, whether this ends up good or bad… I guarantee you it'll go better than you think."

"…Thanks," Rei said in a small voice. "I guess I'd better go."

"Good luck."

"GOOD LUCK, REI!" Minako yelled, just before the call ended. She took a deep breath, and then gave Haruka an appraising look. "What was that about being out of my wheelhouse? I've gotten plenty of confessions, thank you very much!"

"Yeah, but you always go out with them," Haruka pointed out.

"Well, the world would be a nicer place if people were more open-minded about love," Minako sniffed. "That being said… I have to admit, you're pretty good at this. How would you like to be a Deputy Soldier of Love and Beauty?"

"That depends, what's your policy on workplace fraternization?"

"Oh, it's highly encouraged," Minako said with a sultry smile as she plucked her phone from Haruka's fingers. "Also, technically speaking, I'm already sort of your boss, so it wouldn't really be that different."

"Touché."

The car rocked on its springs as Minako leaned against it next to her. "What a great night," she said quietly, looking up at the sky.

Haruka put her arm around Minako's shoulders. "I'm glad you're having a good time.

Minako turned, her face suddenly serious. "I've had a great time. You put a lot of work into making this night special for me, and I want you to know… I appreciate it." She reached up and pulled Haruka's head down so she could kiss her softly. It was brief, almost chaste – a thank-you. "Do you wanna get out of here?"

"Are you sure? This place is open for another hour, I think."

Minako pursed her lips for a moment. "I suppose I should take my own advice, shouldn't I?" she said with a bemused tone. She slid her arms around Haruka's waist. "Let's take that from the top. Haruka?"

"Yes?"

"Would you like to continue this date at your house?"

"Sure?"

"Naked."

"…Ah."

"In your bed."

"Right."

"Or, at this point, literally anywhere else."

"Got it."

"I could go on."

"That's probably not necessary."

"Haruka?"

"Hmm?"

"Answer the question."

"Oh. Uh, yeah. Yes."

Minako patted her gently on the cheek. "What a coincidence, me too. Now… how fast can this car go?"

Haruka grinned.

You could say this for Minako: she didn't waste time when her eyes were on the prize. As soon as they stepped inside the house, she was kicking off her shoes and sauntering towards the stairs, only stopping for a second to cast a smoky look over her shoulder at Haruka before heading up. Haruka let her go, taking her time to remove her shoes and turn off the lights downstairs. In the darkness, her house felt preternaturally still. Michiru was usually up painting or practicing until long after midnight, and Setsuna came and went at all hours. Even Hotaru gave the house a certain... presence, even when she was just asleep in her room. Maybe Usagi wasn't the only one who hadn't been looking forward to sleeping in a big, empty house tonight.

She turned the entrance light off last before heading up. The cool, smooth wood felt wonderful on her bare feet as she mused on what she would find upstairs. Minako had played her like a fiddle all night, always teasing juuuust enough to keep her off-balance. She didn't really flirt - at least not how Haruka understood flirting – she just had a way of infecting you with her own relentless brand of enthusiasm. Making girls blush and stammer, that was something she understood; it was a harmless thrill, the simple pleasure of making someone happy for a moment. She knew it from both sides; Michiru turned her own charm back against her effortlessly, leaving Haruka red-faced and sputtering, always wearing that little smile that meant she was particularly proud of herself. But, Michiru was uncomplicated and straightforward in her wants; both of them had been through too much to waste time on games. What did Minako want? Something told her it was more than just... the obvious.

Soft light poured from the half-open door at the end of the landing, and Haruka smiled. Yep, eyes on the prize, alright. She pushed the door to her bedroom open and stepped through. Their bedside lamp was on, but there was no sign of Minako. The light was on in the ensuite, maybe she was freshening up...

She didn't see the trap until it closed. A pair of delicate hands clapped themselves over her eyes, and a husky voice whispered, "Gotcha..."

"God, how can something hurt and feel so good at the same time?" Haruka groaned, her eyes rolling back. Minako's fingers pushed and kneaded, sending sharp spears of agony and ecstasy through her, turning her muscles into jelly. Her head lolled back and she stared unseeing up at the ceiling, every fibre of her being focused on those fingers. Minako said something, but it was muffled, lost in the clouds of steam drifting overhead. With great effort, she lifted her head. "What was that?"

"I said, maybe you should have your feet measured," Minako repeated. Haruka moaned again as she dug her thumbs into the ball of her foot, massaging in tight circles. "I wouldn't have thought that someone who runs track would have such delicate feet…" She leaned forward and kissed Haruka's big toe, and then gasped as the precariously balanced towel protecting her hair began to topple forward. Bath water splashed everywhere as she frantically brought her hands up to try and steady it.

"Hey, who said 'stop'?" Haruka complained, waving her foot in Minako's face.

Minako spared a second to swat at her foot. "Alright, alright, gimme a sec here. I really don't feel like spending all night drying my hair."

"All that hair sure looks like a pain," Haruka observed, running fingers through her own short locks. It felt like they were beginning to curl in the humidity of the bath.

"It's worth it," was Minako's matter-of-fact reply as she rewound the towel into an impressively tall column. "I haven't cut it since I was seven." She gingerly removed her hands from the towel, and sighed with relief as it stayed up. Her hands darted into the bath, snagging Haruka's foot and yanking it forward. Haruka only had a second to yelp in surprise before her head was swallowed by hot water. Her hands scrabbled against the bath tub until she finally was able to push herself back up, coughing and sputtering.

She glared at Minako as she pushed wet hair from her eyes. "That was a cheap move!"

Minako batted her eyelashes. "Oh, I'm sorry, I thought you wanted more foot rubs?"

Haruka scooted back in the tub, one arm resting on the edge in case Minako tried any more tricks, which seemed to amuse her. "So," she said. "What do you think? Good date?"

"So far, so good," Minako replied with a coy smile. Her wet fingers traced along the curve of her neck, circling unconsciously over the livid, purple hickey Haruka had accidentally given her. Well, mostly accidentally. What would her parents think of that? Minako herself hadn't seemed too concerned. Of course, chances were it would be gone by tomorrow. Thank you, magical healing powers.

"Only good?"

"Well, the night is young," Minako said, her toes brushing along Haruka's thigh beneath the water. "But, I have every confidence that you'll continue to impress." She drew her knees up to her chest and swiveled around in the bath before kicking off the side of the tub. Water sloshed violently as she pushed herself back into Haruka's lap.

Haruka wrapped her arms around the other girl's stomach, pulling them both together. She grimaced for a moment as the pillar of towel-wrapped hair nearly smacked her in the face. Her fingers traced Minako's abdominal muscles; from the way she moved Haruka could tell they were a little tender. "It takes two to tango, remember? Don't give me all the credit."

Minako reached back to lay her palm against Haruka's cheek. "True. After all, a good leader inspires her subordinates to do their best…" Her words dissolved into peals of laughter as Haruka's fingers changed from stroking to tickling, and her thrashing legs chopped the bath water to froth as she struggled to escape. Laughter changed to shrieks as Haruka latched onto the side of her neck with her lips and sucked with all her might.

She let Minako beg for mercy for a solid thirty seconds before letting go. Minako collapsed against her, panting. Her hair had toppled from its terrycloth tower, and Haruka noted with satisfaction that a new hickey was already blooming on her neck like a red peony.

"I'll admit that letting you take the lead has worked out pretty well for me so far…" Minako wheezed. "So, uh, maybe we can forget all that leader business. At least for tonight."

"How magnanimous of you," Haruka whispered into her ear. "In that case…"

Minako squeaked as she slid her hands down to her buttocks, but it was just to lift her slightly. Haruka slipped herself out from under Minako's body and turned over. Minako's mouth was frozen mid-word, her blue eyes wide, as Haruka slid herself up her pale torso. Gently, she took Minako's hand in hers and circled her waist with the other, pulling their hips together.

"… shall we dance?"

* * *

Author's Notes

Just a reminder, dear friends, that the full, unadulterated version of this story is available on AO3, under the pseud **balambfish**. That's a good 3500 words of quality smut that you would be a _fool_ to deny yourself, in this chapter alone!


	4. Milestone 3 - Cost-Benefit Analysis

**Project** **: Venus**

Milestone 3 – Cost/Benefit Analysis

* * *

"So, while Haruka was in the shower, I figured the least I could do say thanks for her, uh, 'hospitality' was to make breakfast."

Ami leaned forward to blow gently on her café mocha as she listened to Minako's story, her eyes following Minako's hands as she gestured. She had just told this story start to finish not even ten minutes ago, but now that Makoto had joined them, a retelling was apparently necessary.

"And so I saunter into the kitchen, wearing nothing but one of Haruka's button-up shirts and a smile, and what do I find there?" She paused for dramatic effect. "Hotaru and Setsuna sitting at the table, drinking tea!"

Makoto put her face in her hands, staring at Minako through her fingers. "Oh my God, Minako!" she said in a scandalized voice. "What did you say?"

Minako's nonchalant shrug was identical to the one she'd made when Ami had asked her that exact question. "'Welcome home?' What else could I say? Apparently they'd gotten back late the night before."

"So they heard you two...?"

"Yyyyyyup."

Makoto's eyes widened even further. "Did they say anything? Was Hotaru mad?"

"No, not at all! Haruka and Michiru apparently talked to her extensively about all this stuff before Michiru left for Germany. In fact, she made me scrambled eggs… while lecturing me about walking around other people's homes half-naked." Minako put her hand behind her head and gave an embarrassed laugh.

It was remarkable, the subtle ways Minako embellished her story now that her audience was larger. Dramatic pauses, little hand movements, different word stresses. Would that trend continue significantly once Rei and Usagi arrived? It would be interesting to observe.

She couldn't deny that Minako knew her audience, though. In her first telling, she'd only provided broad detail – enough, of course, to leave Ami blushing furiously – but with Makoto's arrival her escapades with Haruka suddenly became that much more lurid. Makoto ate it up, of course, wearing an expression of mingled envy and disbelief. But then, she and Minako and had always had a fascination with Haruka that Ami herself didn't share. Nevertheless, Ami still listened with her full attention.

"You should have seen Haruka's face when she came downstairs, though. I've never seen her blush like that, it was amazing. Through all of breakfast, she wouldn't look any of us in the eye." Minako sighed happily and shook her head. "She's so adorable sometimes."

"What about Setsuna?" asked Makoto.

"Not a word the whole time! She just took a long look at the goods -" Minako cupped her breasts for emphasis, making Ami wince. "- gave me one of those looks of hers – you know the one I mean – and went back to reading."

Makoto leaned back against the booth seat. "I don't know how you do it. If Haruka asked me out, I don't think I'd have the guts to say yes."

"Well, let me know if you want me to put in a good word for you," Minako teased, taking a sip of her iced tea. Makoto broke into a scandalized laugh, shaking her head.

"I still think you're playing with fire," Ami said primly. "Fun's fun, but what are you going to do if… if you start developing feelings for her? Michiru _is_ back at the end of September." Across from her, Makoto made a noise in agreement.

Minako gave her a long, appraising look. "C'mon, remember who you're talking to! Everyone involved knows the deal. Besides," she said with a twinkle of mischief in her eye, "have you seen their bed? It could fit three people, no problem."

"Minako, honestly!" Ami said sharply. Minako arched an eyebrow at her in response, and Ami flushed at her own outburst. She opened her mouth, but nothing came out. Makoto was laughing, but Ami could see color in her cheeks, too.

"Alright, alright, that's enough," Makoto said finally, coming to her rescue. "You're going to give poor Ami an ulcer."

"I'm fine!" Ami said peevishly. She frowned down into her coffee cup. "And ulcers aren't caused by stress, they are caused localized flare-ups of _Helicobacter pylori_ bacteria in the digestive system."

Makoto snorted. "Alright, never mind, she's fine."

"Sorry, sorry… I got a little over-excited. How about we take a break from the bedroom talk for a bit, okay?" Ami felt a hand on her shoulder, and she looked over to see Minako smiling at her sheepishly. With a sigh, Ami accepted her apology, knowing full well it would be forgotten as soon as Usagi and Rei arrived.

"Well, that was my morning," Minako said brightly, as if nothing had happened. "What have you guys been up to?"

Ami shrugged. "Exam school."

"Uhh, some grocery shopping, some of our summer reading here and there…" Makoto said.

Minako crossed her arms and assumed a fierce expression. "Guys, come _on_!This is the last summer of high school! You should be out there -" She gestured vaguely. "- making lifelong memories that don't involve trig identities or…" Her nose scrunched up as she racked her brain. "… hydrogen bonds!"

"In six months you're going to wish you had more memories about trig identities," Makoto said drily.

Ami gave a curt nod of agreement. "Have you even started your summer homework yet? The summer is half over."

"I've… basically started," Minako said slowly, some of her ardor fading. "Do you guys wanna, maybe, work on some of it tonight…?"

Makoto shook her head. "I've got aikido tonight, so – oh!" She sat up straight in her seat, waving eagerly. Ami craned her head back over the booth and saw Usagi and Rei just reaching the top of the parlour stairs. When the pair caught sight of them they waved back and quickly came over, both of them scooting into the booth next to Makoto with Usagi in the middle.

"Heeeey, strangers," Minako drawled. "Long time no see."

"Oh, ha ha, time's just kinda been flying by!" Usagi said with a cheerfulness that seemed forced. Something in her tone gave Ami pause; she sounded and looked anxious. Ami could see it in the set of her shoulders and the furrow of her forehead. Was she having a hard time home alone? Or perhaps she and Mamoru had had yet another spat.

"Five days isn't _that_ long, Mina," Rei said dismissively. She gave Usagi a reassuring smile, which Usagi returned gratefully. The contrast between them was strange. Had she ever seen Rei looking so relaxed? Composed, certainly, but Rei usually carried some rigidity in her posture. Now, though, she smiled at them with heavy-lidded eyes, radiating calm and contentment. Ami glanced quickly at the others: Makoto seemed oblivious, but Minako's eyes were narrowed, a puzzled frown on her face. She'd noticed it, too.

"Is that a new outfit, Rei? It looks great on you," Minako said suddenly, a strange edge in her voice. The outfit _was_ quite lovely, now that Ami looked at it: an expensive-looking purple blouse and black skirt that matched Rei's coloring beautifully. For some reason, though, Minako's comment caused both Usagi and Rei to blush, with Usagi turning her eyes away. Rei's arm moved beneath the table, and the two of them shared a look that Ami couldn't get a read on. What on earth was _that_ about?

"Thanks," Rei said eventually. Her composure slipped for a moment as she glared at Minako.

Minako opened her mouth to reply, but Makoto cut her off. "So, Usagi, how's the bachelorette life been treating you?" she teased. "I hope you haven't just been eating junk all week!"

Usagi turned to look at her for a moment, but didn't reply. Instead she squared her shoulders and took a deep breath. Her anxiety evaporated, replaced with a look of determination that bordered on defiance.

"REI AND I ARE IN LOVE!"

Silence hung stark in the air as the susurrus of conversation around them cut off sharply. From the corner of her eye, Ami watched as their waitress stopped dead in her tracks on the way to their table, turned on her heel, and hurried away.

Beside her, Minako stared at the two of them with wide eyes, her face drawn and pale. Usagi met her stare for stare, color high in her cheeks, her lips pressed into a thin line. Rei was blushing hard as she shook her head to herself, but the grin she wore was wide, and excitement danced in her eyes.

"Wait." Makoto was first to break the silence, and all attention at the table turned to her. "In love with who?"

* * *

It was almost five when they all said their goodbyes in front of the Crown. Rei was off to the shrine to make sure things hadn't fallen apart in her absence, but unless Ami missed her guess, she'd be packing a bag and heading right back to Usagi's in short order. As for Usagi herself, she had headed home alone to make a long-overdue phone call, one that she clearly was not relishing. Makoto had left for her aikido class, still looking a little dazed by the afternoon's revelations and the ensuing commotion – something Ami could definitely empathize with.

That left Ami and Minako walking in silence together through the syrupy summer heat, taking their time on the way back to Minako's house as the afternoon sun beat at their backs. Ami plucked at the collar of her blouse, already missing the Crown's air-conditioning. Beside her, Minako walked with her arms crossed behind her head as she stared forward. The look on her face was one of intense inward focus.

"What's your take on all this?" she said suddenly. Her head tilted slightly as she looked at Ami from the corner of her eye. "You were awfully quiet back there."

In no small part because Minako had monopolized the conversation, of course, but that wasn't germane to the question. Ami was silent as she took a moment to organize her thoughts. "They both seem happy," she said carefully. She wasn't quite sure if Minako was looking for another argument, or trying to sort out her own feelings, but she felt this was a strong central thesis for either case.

Or maybe not. "Yeah, they're happy, but that's not what I'm asking. What do _you_ think about it?"

Ami frowned slightly. Alright, then. "I think that Usagi Tsukino doesn't owe this world anything. I think that she's earned – with blood, sweat and tears – the right to be happy on her own terms, whatever those may be, and with whomever she chooses. And I think that _we_ are the last people who should be trying to gainsay her in that, regardless of the circumstances." It came out a little sharper than she intended, but she didn't care. "And, since you insist, I found your reaction to be disproportionate, and, frankly, a little hypocritical."

Minako stopped walking and turned to face her, frowning now herself. "Hypocritical how?" she demanded.

"You read them both the riot act for… for sleeping together, while you had just finished bragging about doing essentially the same thing with Haruka."

Minako made an annoyed noise. "God, Ami, are we seriously going to have this conversation again? Haruka and I are having harmless fun. Nobody is getting hurt, nobody is getting cheated on. Why is that so hard to understand? Why are you and Usagi so weird about it? I mean, I guess now we know why Usagi has been. You wanna talk hypocritical? I'm not sneaking around behind anyone's back!"

"To be fair, it did sound like it sort of happened in the heat of the moment…" Ami let herself trail off. She wasn't sure why she was suddenly playing devil's advocate; on this point she didn't really disagree with Minako at all.

Minako threw her hands in the air. "You know what, sure. It was a moment of passion, they're only human, blah blah blah! But, you know what? If the tables were turned, and we found Mamoru had been fooling around with some girl overseas, Usagi would be _devastated_. And none of us would be making excuses for him. And _that_ is _bullshit_." Her shoulders sagged. "Maybe it's none of my business, like Usagi said. And I'm glad that the two of them seem to be happy together. I really am. I just want everyone to be happy, and for nobody to get hurt. Is that so much to ask?" She scrubbed at her eyes.

Ami's heart went out to her friend, even if she wasn't really sure why she was taking it so personally. "Well, I think you've convinced Usagi to do the right thing, if that makes you feel better." Minako hadn't let either of them leave until Usagi swore up and down that she would call Mamoru tonight and tell him everything. The thought gave Ami a hollow feeling in the pit of her stomach; as hard as it had been to watch Usagi grow more and more despondent over the last year, she still considered Mamoru a friend. She couldn't imagine what Usagi must be feeling.

Minako set her chin stubbornly. "She'd better, or I'll go over there, sit on her, and call him myself."

They started walking again, and Ami was happy to note that some of the tension seemed to have left her friend's body after her tirade.

"Do you think it'll be weird for everyone? You know, if things work out and they stay together?" Minako asked suddenly.

"Maybe? I don't think so," Ami mused. "It's funny, Usagi's had a crush on Rei for almost as long as I've known her, but I would never have thought things would end up like this… and yet, here we are."

"Ha, yeah," Minako said. Suddenly, she stopped dead. "Wait, what?"

Ami stopped and turned to her with a quizzical look. "Hmm?"

"You mean _Rei_ had a crush on _Usagi_."

Ami stared ahead thoughtfully. "Mmm… not that I can say I've ever noticed, although given the present circumstances, I suppose it is very likely."

"You have to be kidding," Minako said flatly.

"What do you mean?"

"How could you think Usagi had a crush on her?"

Ami tilted her head in confusion. "But, Usagi has always doted on Rei! She's constantly teasing her or trying to get her attention in little ways. It's cute." Ami smiled to herself, remembering. "Have you ever heard about the first day we met Rei? We were all on the same bus home from school when we first saw her. I'd only known Usagi for a week or so at that point, I think. Anyways, even back then, if there was one thing Usagi loved, it was-"

"Gawking inappropriately at girls in public?" Minako interrupted with a grin. Ami smiled back and shook her head.

"Some things never change, right? Well, I spotted her first: long, black hair, beautiful in a very traditional way, kind of sad-looking…" Minako made an impatient noise, and Ami sped up her description. "…right, you know what Rei looks like. Anyways, I pointed her out, and Usagi just… stopped dead. Just stared at her with her eyes wide and her mouth hanging open until Rei got off at her stop. And then she just followed Rei off the bus! Didn't even say a word to me, just ran right off after her before I even knew what was going on." Ami chuckled wistfully to herself. "Apparently, she marched right up to the shrine and introduced herself. It's funny how she can be so shy sometimes and so forward others, don't you think? Rei was all she talked about at school for days afterwards, of course. Oh, she was so excited when she turned out to be Sailor Mars. It actually made me a little jealous, back then…" she trailed off again, and finally noticed Minako staring at her, flabbergasted.

"Are you serious? And you've just been sitting on this for _four years_?" she finally said in a strangled voice.

"Well, I guess I haven't really thought about it since then," Ami said a little defensively.

Minako shook her head slowly. "Well… damn it. I guess it's my own fault. I never even thought to ask. Who would've thought..."

"I wonder if Usagi even remembers it…"

"Of course she does," said Minako, sounding distracted. "You'd never forget something like that. All this time… ooooh, I would have handled things so differently! I can't believe no one ever told me this!"

"Handled what differently?"

Minako blinked, and stared at Ami for a moment. "Huh? Oh, uh, nothing, nothing." She sidled up next to Ami and leaned over to murmur conspiratorially into her ear. "So… you got a little jealous of Rei, huh?"

Ami could feel her face heat and she tried to stammer out an explanation, that she was only jealous of sharing a new friend's attention, but Minako only grinned and elbowed her teasingly in the ribs. "Ohhh, don't get all flustered! Everyone who meets Usagi falls in love with her at least a little bit."

Ami crossed her arms under her breasts, trying to recover a little poise. Minako's attempt to change the subject was obvious, if… effective. It also neatly intersected with her own desire to move on, so she let it slide. In fact, this might actually be a good opportunity to segue to a question she had been itching to ask since they left the Crown. She just needed to compose herself for a moment.

"So," she said nonchalantly. "Um… what would you do in that situation?"

Minako arched her eyebrow. "What situation?"

Whoops. "What I mean is, what would you do if, you know, a friend kissed you out of the blue?" she asked as casually as she could.

"Ooh, Ami, you're so bold today!" Minako cried, throwing her arm around Ami's waist and pulling them both together, hip to hip. You'd never know that she'd been ranting angrily only minutes before.

Ami had anticipated and prepared for the obvious comeback but not the sudden physical contact, and color flooded back into her cheeks. She gently but firmly pushed Minako back. "It's a serious question."

"Oops, my bad," Minako said with a grin. Her voice took on a lecturing tone. "Well then, first off: nobody kisses someone 'out of the blue'. If you know what to look for, there are _always_ signs. You have to be receptive to them but many of us aren't, unfortunately."

"Okay, but assume maybe you saw some of these signs, but when she kissed you it was still a total shock."

"Well…"

"Or he!" Ami amended quickly.

"You mean, would I drag her to my bed the second the words were out of her – or his – mouth?" Minako said with a coy smile. "Unlike some people, probably not. That's something you should have a good long talk about first. But, that's just my opinion."

"But, would you, you know…"

"Kiss them back?" Minako shrugged. "Sure. Why not?"

"Just like that? You wouldn't be afraid it would change your friendship?"

Minako frowned. "Well, yeah. Wouldn't that be the whole point?"

"No, I mean, wouldn't you be afraid it would ruin your friendship if things went poorly?" Ami pressed.

"I wouldn't go into it assuming things will go bad."

"But what if they did?"

"Then, I guess… you pick up the pieces, try to learn something, and move on. Love's complicated." Minako shrugged and smiled ruefully. "Sometimes it's great, sometimes it hurts. Usually a little of both."

They continued on in silence as Ami pondered that. There was no disputing that Minako had more experience than her with relationships and… and so on. But, she just couldn't wrap her head around Minako's laissez-faire outlook on life. Surely a more pragmatic attitude was better, wasn't it? That didn't stop her from chewing it over in her mind. There must be something she was missing.

They arrived at Minako's house and exchanged a few polite platitudes with her parents before heading upstairs. Her room was messier than normal – clothes were strewn haphazardly over and around the bed, and two dozen makeup bottles dotted her vanity. Ami picked up an eyeliner at random. She didn't recognize the brand.

"Been doing some shopping, have you?" she said lightly.

Minako blushed and begin to scurry around the room, snatching up rogue apparel. "Sorry! Michiru sent Rei and me a bunch of clothes from Germany, and I haven't gotten around to reorganizing my closet. Plus, _somebody_ left all of hers here and then disappeared for five days."

"Ahh." Ami rolled the bottle in her fingers for a moment before placing it with deliberate slowness back onto the vanity. A sudden ache grew in her chest. "Have you heard from her much, then?"

"Michiru?" Minako grunted as she tried to shove a double-armful of clothes into her closet. "Sure, here and there. More often, now that Haruka and I started… hanging out, of course." She said it as if it were the most normal thing in the world. Where could you even begin to unpack something like that?

Better not to try. Instead she forced herself to smile and changed the subject. "Let's get those books out!"

Studying had always been Ami's refuge from her own head. The busier she kept her brain, the less it could dwell on unpleasant subjects. She was perfectly aware that it was a defense mechanism, but it had served her well enough. Armored in her coursework, she had weathered her parents' divorce, years of stares and whispers at school, and the myriad crises of her Senshi duties.

Tutoring, unfortunately, provided no such bulwark. It just didn't engage her at the level necessary to keep her distracted. Which was why she nearly jumped out of her skin when she felt a tentative touch on her hand.

"Sorry!" Minako looked as surprised as Ami felt. "Just making sure you're still with me."

Ami put a hand to her chest, feeling her heart pound. "No, I'm sorry. I was a million miles away." It was doubly-embarrassing, considering she had chided Minako several times for playing with her phone while Ami was trying to go over problems with her.

To her relief, Minako didn't press her on it. "So, I put the numbers into the formula, but the angle I got makes no sense."

"Let me see." Minako scooted over to give Ami room at her little desk. "No, see, you've got the wrong formula again. Look. The question provides you the length of two sides and the _interior_ angle. Side-angle-side. Which means you use…?"

"Law of Cosines," Minako sighed.

"That's right!" said Ami warmly. "If you had one of the other two angles, that's when you would use the Law of Sines."

"I swear, I do know this stuff," Minako mumbled as she erased furiously. "My brain is just conspiring to make me look dumb."

"You aren't dumb," Ami said patiently. "You should try labelling all the sides and angles 'A B C', just like in the formulae. It will make it much more obvious which one to use."

Minako tapped her lips with her pencil. "Hmmm. Alright, let me try that on the next few. Don't help me, though, I wanna try on my own."

"Alright," Ami smiled, holding her hands up in mock surrender. She leaned back in her chair and watched as Minako hunched over the page, until a faint sensation tickled the edges of her senses. "Is your phone buzzing?"

"No?" Minako looked back at her. "Mine's right here."

Ami stood and walked nervously over to the bed. No one ever called her phone; even her Mom usually just messaged her. Could something be wrong? She dug it from her purse, and saw the number on the call display. For a second, she just stood there, staring.

"Aren't you gonna answer it?"

That was an excellent question. If Minako hadn't been sitting there watching, she might have let it ring to voicemail. Instead, she swallowed, touched her thumb to the phone's screen, and slowly lifted it to her ear.

"Hello?" Her voice sounded thick and dull to her own ears.

"Hello, Ami." Even across nine thousand kilometers of fibre optic cable, Michiru's voice was like the gentle chime of bells. The sound of it created a painful tightening in Ami's stomach.

"Long time, no… hear." Ami cringed at her own words. In its shaken state, her brain was apparently retreating into tired conversational clichés.

"Almost four months," Michiru agreed. Ami's ears strained to hear accusation in those words, but there was none there.

"I meant to call, but…" Ami trailed off. There was no way to finish that sentence that wasn't a lie.

"I know." There was a long pause. "I would like to see you."

Ami felt her pulse quicken. "Are you back in Tokyo?"

"No, darling, I'm still in Germany." Ami could hear a tinkle of amusement in her voice. "You would have to fly out here. I would take care of all the arrangements, and you could stay as long as you wanted. Think of it as… an early birthday present."

Ami opened her mouth, but her words seemed to stick in her throat. Michiru continued on.

"I know this is quite sudden, but I have some time off of my program, and…" she cleared her throat, and Ami suddenly wondered if she was as nervous as Ami felt. "…and I'm not happy with how things were when I left. Between us, I mean. I want to clear the air, and… I just want to see you. I miss seeing you."

She stopped, and Ami suddenly found herself scrambling for a response. "I-I don't know if I can. I have exam school, and my Mom-"

"I know," Michiru interrupted calmly. "You don't have to decide immediately. Take as much time as you need. The invitation is open. Just… don't make me wait too long, okay?"

Ami nodded slowly until she realized that she actually had to say something. "Alright. I-I'll let you know as soon as I can."

"Wonderful. I'll talk to you soon, I hope."

"Right. G-goodbye." Her phone gave a single beep as the call ended, and she stared down at it dumbly.

"Is everything okay?" Ami jumped and fumbled with her phone frantically, nearly dropping it. She had completely forgotten where and with whom she was.

"No, it's… I'm fine." Part of her wanted to brush it off. Telling Minako anything would inevitably turn into telling her everything. It would just mean question after uncomfortable question when what she really wanted was to take some time to think this through on her own before she turned to outside assistance. On the other hand, Minako might be the only person who could understand her situation. After long seconds of internal debate, she decided to risk it.

Deep breath. "That was Michiru. She, um, wants to fly me out to visit her."

"Whaaaaaaat?! Just you? I want to go to Germany!" Minako pouted for a second, but quickly broke into an excited smile. "So, when do you leave?"

Ami girded herself. "Well, it's not that simple…"

Minako gave her a deadpan look as she spun in her chair to face Ami. "You _can't_ be thinking of turning her down. This is _literally_ a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!"

"And again, it's not that simple." Ami sat down on the bed, both hands clasping her phone in front of her. "I mean, I have school… I have to look after the apartment…"

"Oh, please. Your mom is a grown woman, she can do her own laundry and cook her own meals for a while. And what's going to happen if you miss a few weeks of cram school?"

"Look, I know it wouldn't matter to you-"

"No, _you_ look, Ami," Minako interjected. "I want you to answer my question honestly and to the best of your ability. What is going to happen if you miss a few weeks of cram school? Are you going to fail the finals?"

Ami was taken aback by the question. "Well, no, of course not," she sputtered.

"Will you get rejected by all the universities you're looking at, and have to resort to working in a maid café?"

"No…"

"Would there be any meaningful impact on your grades whatsoever?"

She made a show of thinking it over, even though she knew the answer. "Probably not, no."

Minako gave a satisfied nod. "There you go, then. No excuses."

Ami stared down at her lap, where her hands were clenched white-knuckled around her phone. "It's not that I don't want to go, it's just…" She took a breath, and forced herself to relax. "Before she left, Michiru, she…" Ami could feel herself turning red even _thinking_ about saying this out loud, but it was already tumbling out. "She kissed me. We'd been swimming, it was late, we were getting changed, and she kissed me." She looked up to see Minako staring at her in disbelief.

"Wait, for real? This wasn't, like, some European kiss-on-the-cheeks thing?"

Ami shook her head. "Definitely not." The bedsprings creaked as Minako sat down beside her.

"What did you do?"

Ami was silent for a moment, trying hard not to remember the moment. "I kind of… panicked and ran away. And then she left for school, and that… that was the last time I spoke to her. Until just now."

That wasn't the whole truth, of course. Michiru had left her an apologetic voicemail the next day, and another just before she left, saying goodbye. She couldn't tell Minako that, though. She could barely bring herself to think about it.

"…Huh." Minako crossed her arms and closed her eyes, her brow creased deep in concentration. She looked… annoyed? A moment later, her eyes popped open. "Alright, she didn't – uh, I didn't know this, but this is fine. This is great! I can work with this." Ami jumped as she clapped her hands together excitedly. "You two kissed, and you freaked out. I could have told her that would happen, but hey, why tell me anything?"

"Well-"

"No, never mind, it's fine. It's fine! So, you want to accept Michiru's offer, but something is holding you back. Let's dig into that. Are you afraid that if you go, she is gonna put the moves on you again? Or," her voice dropped a register. "Are you afraid… that she won't?" She grinned as color flooded Ami's cheeks.

Minako had struck to the root of Ami's internal struggle, but leave it to her to do it in the most embarrassing way possible. Well, two could play at that game.

"Are you in love with Haruka?"

Ami watched with no small satisfaction as Minako's wide-eyed face slowly turned a burning crimson. She expected some kind of denial or exclamation, or at least an attempt to change the subject back to Michiru, but instead Minako collapsed backwards onto the bed. She stared up at the ceiling, fingers steepled over her stomach.

"…yeah. Maybe."

Ami blinked. "Wait, really? I thought you said 'everyone knows the deal'!"

Minako smiled wistfully to herself. "Yeah, I did. This, uh… just turned out to be the deal."

"But you've only gone out twice!"

"So? We've know each other for years. We get along really well. We're both attracted to each other."

"I don't know if that really sounds like being in love," Ami said doubtfully.

Minako stopped and turned to face her. "Let me put it a different way, then," she said. Her face bore an expression of composed, deliberate patience, like one of her cram school teachers going through a problem for the third time with a particularly dense student. "When she looks at me, my heart starts pounding. I find myself lying awake at night thinking about her. Part of me wishes she would just cruise up to the house right now, throw me over her shoulder – she can totally do that, by the way – and drive us somewhere nice and quiet. We have another date on Friday, and it's basically all I can think about. Does that sound better?"

Ami laid back on the bed next to her. "So, what happens when Michiru comes back at the end of November?"

"Actually, Haruka is going over to visit her sometime after school restarts." Minako said absently. "I didn't mean to, you know? Haruka is just so… intense. So _present_. But, that's what summer romance is all about, right? Short and sweet and kinda crazy, and then… poof."

"And that's it? You're just… fine with that?"

Minako turned onto her side. "I'll miss her, if that's what you mean. Maybe I'll even be a little jealous. But, you know what? Maybe Haruka will start seeing someone else before then. Or maybe I will! Who knows, right? But, I'd rather be in love for a little while than spend my life afraid of getting hurt."

"This is all terrifying," Ami said eventually. She frowned as Minako's chest began to heave in silent laughter. "It's not funny!"

"Ami, Ami, Ami…" Minako said, amusement dancing in her eyes. "You're looking at this all wrong. You're supposed to be the smart one!"

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"I mean – and I can't believe _I'm_ saying this – you need to look at this rationally! Okay, maybe you don't have a lot of experience, but so what? You weren't born knowing algebra, or the capital of Portugal, or what year the Battle of Sekigahara was. Your problem is you think love and sex and all that stuff are any different! You just need to do what you always do!"

"Which is what?"

Minako grinned. "Your homework!"

* * *

Strangely enough, giving herself permission to go turned out to be the hardest part. That night, miracle of miracles, Ami and her mother actually both managed to have dinner together at a reasonable hour. Coming home from a double shift usually meant that her mom would be in the mood for something simple, so Ami threw together a basic beef curry and, at the last second, dug a bottle of red wine out of the pantry.

Her mom sank into her chair with a sigh, and smiled gratefully up at Ami as her dinner was served. She raised one eyebrow as Ami set a wineglass down next to her plate and began to struggle with the corkscrew.

"What's the occasion?" she asked as Ami finally got the cork out.

Ami froze for a second mid-pour, suddenly realizing how obvious she was being. Setting the bottle down hurriedly, she sat down across from her mother and folded her hands in her lap. "Actually… there was something I wanted to ask you."

Her mom leaned back, cradling her wineglass in her palm. "It's not like you to try and butter me up, but… alright, dear, you have my attention."

Her full attention, in fact. Ami shifted nervously in her seat. There was no point in trying to talk in circles around things; after fourteen years in diagnostic medicine, her mom would piece things together easily enough. Besides, she had long ago promised herself that Senshi business would be the one and only secret she kept from her mother.

Okay, here we go. "M-my friend Michiru invited me to come stay with her in Germany for a few weeks."

Her mother took a sip from her glass. "Michiru… the friend you swim with sometimes? She's studying in Berlin for… six months, correct?"

"That's right."

"She's the violinist, right? The one whose music you are always playing?"

"Yes." Ami blushed a little.

"Doesn't she have a… girlfriend? Who races motorcycles or something?"

"She races cars. She does have a motorcycle, though," Ami corrected, trying not to be impatient. Her mom had a tendency to work through her thoughts out loud that could be frustrating. Ami hoped she didn't intend to make a production out of this conversation.

"Ahhh, that's right. And wasn't she the one who…" she trailed off, eyeing Ami expectantly as she took a sip of her wine.

Ami pursed her lips, her hands twisting her napkin anxiously in her lap. "Who kissed me, yes," she finished. She'd needed to talk to _someone_ about it - she had tried with Makoto, who for some reason had gotten agitated when Ami tried to explain what had happened. Her mother wasn't her first choice for this type of advice, but Ami had to reluctantly admit that it had been reasonable enough: just talk to Michiru like an adult and be honest with your feelings. If only it had been that easy.

Her mother just looked at her for a moment, and then leaned forward. "Honey, I just want to be sure that you understand the… subtext of this invitation. You understand that she isn't asking you to come sightseeing, right?"

Ami took a long drink of water, stalling to try and compose herself before she forced out a single word. "Y-yes." To her amazement, she hardly blushed at all.

"Good," her mother said, punctuating it with a short nod. "I have your birth certificate and your passport in the safe in my office. You can use my luggage. Let me know if you need anything else."

For a moment, Ami just stared at her. "You're… okay with this?" she said finally.

Her mother swirled the wine in her glass for a long moment. "Ever since you were in grade school, as soon as you had an assignment, you'd turn to the end of the chapter and try to do the hardest questions right away, just to see if you could figure them out. You still do, I bet."

Ami looked down at her plate. "That's not the same thing."

"Just an observation." Her mother's smile held equal parts pride and amusement.

God, her mother could be frustrating at times. "Speaking of which, what about school?"

Her mother's fork hesitated half-way to her mouth. "You mean your cram school? You're the one who insisted on taking it over the summer. If you think you can afford the time off, it's fine by me. Frankly, dear, you could use a vacation. And besides," she added with a twinkle in her eye, "I'm sure that if you keep an open mind you'll find this trip _extremely_ educational."

Ami squeezed her eyes shut. "Mom!"

* * *

"Thank you," Ami murmured as she accepted the glass of juice from Hotaru. She had to resist the urge to press the chilled glass against her burning face. Instead, she cupped it tightly in both hands and hoped that some of the cold would seep through her fingers to the rest of her. Across from her, Hotaru smoothed her skirt down over her black leggings before sitting demurely at the table, her own glass in hand. Next to her sat Haruka, who sat with her hands clasped before her on the table. The two bright spots of red burning on her cheeks were the most overt signs of her discomfort.

Setsuna was long gone; the moment Hotaru had led Ami into the kitchen she had taken a protracted look at the two of them, closed her book, and announced to the room that she was going for a walk. When Haruka strolled into the kitchen a moment later, she had taken one look at Ami standing stiff and red-faced at the table, sighed deeply, and motioned for her to take a seat.

Ami sipped her drink carefully, trying to figure out where to start. She glanced toward Hotaru out of the corner of her eye. In her rehearsals of this conversation, she had never considered that Hotaru might be present. Her enormous, dark eyes were locked squarely on Ami, and a smile played about her lips.

It was Haruka who finally broke the silence by clearing her throat. "Look, Ami… I'm pretty sure I know why you're here. Part of me just wants to tell you not to worry and send you on your way, but… we're already here, so you might as well just get whatever you need to off of your chest."

Ami let out a breath she didn't realize she'd been holding. Alright, if Haruka wanted to her to be direct, she could be direct. In her head, she shuffled the words she had prepared around a bit. "Right. Okay. So… you probably know already, but Michiru invited me to go visit her in Germany."

Haruka nodded. "Yeah, I know."

"Well, I… umm…." She couldn't force the words out of her mouth. _When I get there, she is probably going to try to seduce me, and I am probably going to let her._ Just thinking the words made her blush even deeper. Maybe she couldn't be _that_ direct.

"Ami," Haruka interjected. "I get it." She crossed her arms and looked down. "It's very… chivalrous of you to come here, and I appreciate the gesture and all but, look…" She looked up at Ami. "Michiru and I are still in the shallows with this 'open relationship' thing. I'm pretty much as new to it as you are. But, to make this work, we decided that we should have some boundaries. We don't have to share anything that we, uh, get up to, unless we decide we want to. If something happens while you're over there, that's between the two of you. You don't need my permission, or my forgiveness, or anything like that."

Ami made herself look Haruka in the eyes. "I just… don't want anyone to get hurt."

"If you want a guarantee that no one will get hurt, I'm not going to give that to you. Like I said, we're all new to this. All I can tell you is that Michiru and I are giving it an honest shot. If things don't work out, for whatever reason, I promise we aren't going to pin the blame on you."

It wasn't the kind of reassurance that Ami had really been looking for. "But, are you actually okay with… the possibility of… something happening?" God, even _that_ was making her blush harder.

"Like I said…" Haruka hesitated, taking in Ami's obvious anxiety, and then shrugged her shoulders. "Alright, fine, yes, I'm okay with it. But if anyone asks, this isn't permission. In fact, this whole conversation never happened. Now, uh, do you need to… lay down or anything?"

In response, Ami took a long drink of her juice, trying to will the color from her cheeks. "No, thank you," she said eventually. She turned and looked at Hotaru, trying to think of what to say.

Hotaru seemed to have no trouble reading her silence. She perked up and smiled wide. "Oh, don't worry about me! I'm not bound by any silly rules, so you one-hundred percent have my blessing." Haruka frowned at the word 'silly' and opened her mouth to object, but Hotaru talked right past her. "Shush, you and Michiru are being too serious about this, as usual," she said archly. She leaned forwarded and stage-whispered to Ami. "Haruka is very happy that you're going. Better you than 'some snooty clarinet player', I believe were her exact words."

"Hotaru…" Haruka growled.

"If you want to get yourself tangled up in this strange little family of ours, then I, for one, am excited," Hotaru said matter-of-factly. "And don't worry about Setsuna, if she had any problem with it, she would have sat you down a long time ago."

"Alright, alright, let's not freak her out," chided Haruka. "Sorry about that, I think Minako is rubbing off on her."

"Well, she's definitely been rubbing off on s _omeone_ …"

Ami bit her lip as Haruka shot a long-suffering expression Hotaru's way. "Case in point. I don't suppose any of… this," she swept her arms wide, "has eased your mind at all?"

To her surprise, Ami discovered it had. Their playful banter had washed away most of her anxiety in a way that their reassurances hadn't. There was only one thing left to do.

"I guess I have a phone call to make."

* * *

Ami shuffled down the aisle, holding her bag and purse in front of her with both hands. Around her, people stretched and chatted to their travelling companions as they opened overhead compartments, filling her ears with the sounds of a dozen languages. The line moved forward, bit by bit, until it carried her past a pair of airline hosts. They said something she was too tired to try and translate, so she smiled politely before ducking through the aircraft door.

The terminal here at Köln Bonn was quiet, at least compared to the endless sea of humanity that had filled Haneda International. She walked sedately down the thoroughfare, the evening sun burning low and orange through the massive windows beside her. It wasn't even 8 o'clock in Germany, but her body was urgently reminding her that she'd been in the air for a mind-numbing thirteen hours, and it was 3 AM back home.

Fortunately, the airport was easy enough to navigate - score one for English class. It wasn't hard to find the luggage pickup, and soon enough she was looking for the exit, luggage in hand. Her single over-sized suitcase was light despite being half her height. Haruka had advised her to pack light. Michiru had insisted on it.

It was Michiru who spotted her first, calling her name and waving her arms over the crowd. Ami's heart and feet picked up their pace, until the crowd parted and… there she was. Michiru swept towards her, closing the distance between them in an instant, only to stop with an arm's length between them. For a moment, uncertainty flickered across her face, but then she reached out and pulled Ami tightly to her. Ami only hesitated a moment before returning her embrace.

"It feels like a lifetime since I saw you last." Michiru's voice in her ear was barely audible over the murmur of the crowd.

Ami felt a sudden lump rise in her throat. "I know… I'm sorry. I wanted to…" She stopped as Michiru pressed a finger to her lips.

"You're here, now. What's done is done," she said almost too softly to hear, before breaking into a smile. "Come, I'm sure you don't want to spend another minute in an airport." She hoisted Ami's carry-on bag in one hand and held out her other. With butterflies in her stomach, Ami took it.

Michiru led her to the pickup area, where a handsome-looking black town car was waiting. The driver stowed her bags as the two of them comported themselves in the backseat.

" _Nach Hause, bitte_ ," Michiru said, and the driver nodded and pulled smoothly away from the curb. For a second, Ami watched out the window as they rolled past an endless blur of shining steel and glass before pulling onto a highway. Driving on the wrong side of the road didn't discomfort her as much as she had anticipated. Perhaps because she wasn't looking out onto traffic?

"How was your flight?" Michiru's voice brought Ami back to earth.

"Long," Ami said simply. She could hear the fatigue in her own voice. "But, otherwise, not bad. I spent most of it reading, to be honest. I tried to sleep, but I just couldn't get comfortable."

Michiru smiled. "I can never sleep on planes, either. And flying to Europe is so particularly tedious. All the more reason I am grateful that you came all this way."

"Nonsense, you paid for everything. All I had to do was show up." Ami looked into Michiru's eyes for as long as she could handle before breaking her gaze away. "And really, once we reached cruising altitude, it wasn't much different from being on a train." For all of Makoto's hand-wringing at the departure gate, flying had turned out to be quite an anticlimax.

"Oh, that reminds me, I'd better let my mother and Makoto know I landed safely!" she said suddenly, digging into her purse. If either one woke up with no message from her, she'd never hear the end of it, from Makoto especially. She looked up apologetically at Michiru, who waved her away. A few quick taps, and her filial duties were complete. She dropped her phone back into her purse, feeling strangely relieved. She looked up into Michiru's smiling face, framed by the orange-red haze of the setting sun behind her. She was actually here, halfway around the world. With Michiru. Her hands clenched nervously in her lap.

"So!" Michiru announced suddenly, sitting up straight. Maybe it was a trick of the ruddy glow that filled the car, but there seemed to be some color in her face, too. "Welcome to Cologne!"

"Thank you," Ami said. She hadn't expected to be staying at Michiru's school dormitory, of course, but she had been confused when the ticket she received listed the Köln Bonn airport. She had thought that Michiru might put her up in a hotel, or something similar, but…

"Cologne is quite nice. Small, but very quaint. It wouldn't have been my first choice, but my cousin and her husband have a condo here. It's small, but I hope you'll be comfortable. They summer on St. Bart's, so we will have the place to ourselves."

"You didn't need to go through so much trouble just for me," Ami said faintly. She was a little relieved that Michiru wasn't paying for a hotel. She hadn't been able to resist looking up the prices of flights from Tokyo to Germany. The results were hair-raising.

"Nonsense." Michiru's voice was firm even though she was still smiling. "All it took was a phone call and a train ride. Besides, this is my vacation, too. I only had a week between high school graduation and classes starting here in April, and most of that was spent packing."

"Well, I –" Ami's sentence was interrupted with a massive yawn that left her blinking tears from her eyes as Michiru laughed softly into her hand.

"Jet lag is even worse on the way back to Japan, I'm afraid," she said as Ami wiped a tear from the corner of her eye with her pinky. "Have you done much travelling?"

Ami shook her head. "Not by air. We went to Shizuoka for our class trip in middle school, but that's it." She cocked her head thoughtfully. "Although, I _have_ been to the Arctic. And I suppose technically I've been to the moon. And the Earth's upper atmosphere. And an argument could certainly be made that travelling to the future is mathematically identical to moving through space, so perhaps that would count as well?" She glanced towards the front of the town car in sudden alarm as she realized what she was saying, but the driver gave no indication that he'd heard anything untoward.

"Don't worry, he barely speaks a word of Japanese." Michiru's words were meant to comfort her, but there was a look of disquiet on her face that lasted until they arrived at their destination a few minutes later. Once the car came to a stop, though, she seemed to regain some of her cheerfulness.

"Are you hungry at all?" she asked as the driver brought out Ami's bags. "There's a deli next door that does a very nice _abendbrot_."

"No, thanks," Ami said absently. It was a tempting offer, especially since her internal clock was looking forward to breakfast in about three hours, but she didn't want to go to bed on a full stomach.

An older man behind the front desk looked up and nodded in silent greeting as the two of them entered the building. Michiru smiled at him in return, but her pace didn't slow as she strode purposefully through the foyer with both of Ami's bags in hand, leaving Ami to step quickly to keep up. The elevator they took to the top floor looked like a museum piece, with an old-fashioned iron scissor gate that Michiru had to close by hand.

The condo she led Ami into couldn't have been a greater contrast to the building. It looked like a set from a fashion magazine: all dark wood, brushed aluminum and black granite, lit with studio lights hidden carefully in ceiling pots. Everything looked brand new, from the modern furniture, to the art deco prints on the walls, to the copper pots hanging over the massive kitchen island. It all exuded the kind of tasteful, high-end sterility that said 'wealthy professional who doesn't get home much'. Not that different from the apartment she shared with her mother, when it really came down to it. And it was hardly _small_.

"Not very homey, is it?" Michiru said, reading her mind.

"It's very nicely furnished," Ami said politely. She picked up a picture frame sitting on a side table – a blond man and a woman with long black hair on a white beach. "Is this your cousin?"

"It is. Well, if you want to be accurate, Noriko is my…" Michiru trailed off for a moment, mouthing to herself. "…second cousin, once-removed? I think that's right."

"Are you two close?"

Michiru tilted her head. "I wouldn't say so, not particularly. I see her every few years at family functions, that sort of thing, at least since she got married. She met her husband while on vacation and moved here while I was in grade school. He's does… something with computers, I believe."

Ami's eyes widened in surprise. "Really? It was very nice of her to let you stay here, then."

Michiru gave her a warm smile. "Let _us_ stay here, darling; I only got here a few days ago myself. And my family, well, we aren't so much close as… well-connected. If you need something, chances are there's a cousin somewhere that has it."

Ami wanted to ask more, but she gotten the sense in the past that family was something of a touchy subject for Michiru and, if she was being honest with herself, she was probably too tired to safely navigate those particular waters. She let Michiru lead her around the condo in a brief tour, until they finally stopped at a door at the end of the hall.

"And this is your – the guest bedroom," Michiru announced. Ami couldn't help but marvel a little; after spending her whole life in Tokyo, the idea of using so much space in an expensive condo just for a guest room seemed like an outrageous luxury. It didn't seem to phase Michiru at all; she even apologized that the room didn't have its own bathroom! Ami shook her head to herself as Michiru went to grab her bags.

The room itself was nicely appointed, of course, but it felt even less lived-in than the rest of the condo. She eyed the bed longingly – it was twice the size of her own back at home – but instead she walked to the other side of the room and pushed open the huge casement windows. The evening air was cool, much cooler than it would have been back home. Resting her arms on the sill, she leaned out to take in her first real taste of a foreign city. In the twilight gloom, the narrow boulevard below wouldn't have been out of place in Japan, except that none of the buildings were more than eight or ten storeys high. Not even a block away, a squat tower of brown stone rose above a gothic cathedral that looked more fortress than church, and a few streets over a river – the Rhine, if she wasn't mistaken – sparkled beneath the lights of dozens of ships and barges.

"You know, there's a superstition here that if you leave windows open while you sleep, you'll get sick." Ami turned to see Michiru heave her book bag from her shoulder and deposit it gently next to the dresser. "Kidney disease in particular, of all things. And not just windows – fans, air conditioning… my dorm mate and I have been fighting about it all summer." She walked up to stand side-by-side with Ami at the window and leaned out, resting her elbows on the frame. Her teal hair was longer than Ami remembered, tumbling down in lazy waves over her shoulders. The river lights shone in her eyes like stars when she turned to Ami with a playful smile. "I won't tell anyone if you won't."

Ami swallowed at the sudden dryness in her throat, and her fingers clenched around the windowsill. She had a sudden, manic urge to step forward, pull Michiru close, and kiss her, just the way Michiru had kissed her on that night a lifetime ago and half a world away. Instead, she found herself saying, "I think I should probably go to bed."

"Of course," Michiru replied. Ami hunted for a hint of sadness or regret in her voice, but found nothing. "I'll be up for a while, so let me know if you need absolutely anything."

Once Michiru had excused herself, Ami heaved her luggage onto the bed before flopping down next to it, staring up at the ceiling fan. She tried to tell herself that her hesitance was just simple exhaustion, that once she had a good night's sleep in her, she'd be able to confront… whatever was going to happen between them.

The though sent a sudden flash of anger through her, and with a noise of irritation she buried her fist into a nearby pillow with a muffled thump. Why couldn't she just be rational about this? Was she so immature that she couldn't even think about… about _sex_ in her own head? She could feel her cheeks heating at the thought, hated it. It was so infuriating that she had so little control over her own reactions.

It had been so much easier, once. She had looked forward to their swim dates every week with bated breath. She wasn't sure how they'd always had the pool to themselves, and she didn't really care, but there was never another soul there, not even Haruka. They didn't talk, not in the pool. It had been the one place Ami felt safe to push herself to the absolute limit, where she didn't have to worry about being singled out for her performance. It wasn't even about competition; Michiru was a faster swimmer, but Ami had the edge in endurance, and they'd established a natural equilibrium. She would burst from the water, chest and legs burning, and Michiru would be right there beside her, panting. They'd catch their breath for a few minutes, and then Michiru would give her a wordless nod and they'd be off again.

And then, in the change room, Michiru would compliment her on some small change in her form, or her new swimsuit, and Ami would smile and laugh it off, while internally she'd be basking under the attention. And then Michiru would smile back, igniting a different kind of fire in her chest. They were hers and hers alone, those smiles. Those moments.

And then, one night, Michiru didn't smile. Instead, she'd bent down, one knee on the wooden change room bench, and touched her lips to Ami's. Ami didn't remember much about that kiss. Her first kiss. She remembered her towel slipping forgotten from her hand, dark, wet curls clinging to the white skin of Michiru's neck, the way the scent of her shampoo flooded her nostrils, and the nearly-imperceptible noise Michiru had made when the kiss ended. She also didn't really recall running away, either, but she could vividly remember standing in front of her apartment door for long minutes, staring blankly into space while her own soaking wet hair dripped down her back, her gym bag hanging from limp fingers.

The next day, Michiru left her a voicemail apologizing for her presumption, her voice quiet and carefully neutral. Ami couldn't bring herself to respond; she had no logical explanation for her panic. The start of the school year provided the perfect bastion against introspection, and she sat, buttressed behind her books, as one swim date came and passed, and then another, and then another, and then one day Ami found another message on her phone wishing her good luck in her studies, hoping she had a great summer, and Michiru was gone, off to the other end of the world.

For weeks, she listened to that message every night in bed, indulging her guilty conscience in the most narcissistic self-flagellation as she fantasized about… about doing things differently. And now, here she was, on a strange bed, in a strange country. This was her penance for running, she had decided on the plane: to take charge of herself and her feelings, even if it meant leaving her comfort zone far, far behind. She pulled the dented pillow to her chest. It had been a long day but, tired or not, she was going to hammer things out once and for all.

* * *

Ami jerked awake with a split second surge of panic that faded as she remembered where she was. She was laying sideways on the guest bed, clutching a pillow in the fetal position with her suitcase digging into her back. She pulled herself into a sitting position, feeling groggy and cotton-mouthed. Her eyes burned, and she almost rubbed them before she realized she still had her contacts in. With an inward groan, she slid off the bed and opened her suitcase. The clock on the nightstand said it was almost four AM, but even after seven hours of sleep, fatigue still hung heavily on her. Thankfully, her clothes were meticulously packed, so even in her numb-brained state she found her night gown easily enough. She peeled off her clothes and let them fall where they may, too tired to be appalled at herself for leaving them in a pile on a stranger's floor.

After sleeping in her clothes, the plain, white cotton felt wonderful against her skin. For a moment, she debated having a bath, but quickly discarded the idea. It would no doubt feel heavenly, but she didn't want to disturb Michiru this late. She would have to settle for washing her face and brushing her teeth, but that sounded great, too, to be honest. She opened her bedroom door gingerly, but it swung open silently. To her surprise, there was light coming from the living room at the end of the hall. Light, and music.

She tiptoed down the hall, not quite sure why she was trying to be so stealthy. The music drew her forward, achingly familiar. She'd listened to it a hundred times in these last few months, part of her penance. Maybe it was an artifact of the condo's acoustics, but it had phantasmal, haunting quality she'd never heard in it before.

Michiru herself was no less ethereal. She had pulled a bar stool from the kitchen out in front of the balcony and thrown open its huge glass doors. Her baggy white shift hung loosely on her like a shroud, revealing one pale shoulder as it billowed softly in the wind off the river, scarcely reaching the tops of her bare legs. She had tied her hair back into a messy ponytail that bobbed and swayed with every stroke of her bow.

Her eyes were shut tight as she played, and so Ami closed her own eyes and just listened, hardly daring to breathe. She didn't realize she had stepped from the hallway into the room until the final, unearthly note faded and she opened her eyes again to find Michiru looking at her.

"I hope I didn't wake you," she said softly, lowering her violin.

Ami shook her head hurriedly. "No, no, I was just going to the washroom and I heard…" She realized she had both hands clutched against her chest and dropped them hastily to her sides. "It was lovely."

"Thank you," Michiru said. She looked down to her violin. "Normally, if I can't sleep, I paint, but I didn't bring my oils with me." One thumb stroked the neck of her instrument. "That was one of my favorite pieces, the-"

"The solo from _Scheherazade_ ," Ami interrupted, and then because she couldn't help herself, "The second movement."

Michiru's eyes seemed to light up. "Yes, that's right! It was one of the first pieces I felt I truly mastered. I find it very… calming."

"I recognized it from your album…" she trailed off as Michiru stood, laying her violin and bow gently on her seat. As she stepped forward, Ami couldn't help noticing that her shift still barely reached the top of her thighs.

"Did you now? I hope I did it justice, then. This room doesn't have great acoustics, and…" Ami swallowed as she stopped only a few feet away. "…without a harp to accompany me, I find the tone is much… lonelier."

They looked at each other in silence for a moment that seemed to stretch into hours, Ami's pulse racing. When Michiru took a half-step towards her, it took every gram of Ami's self-control to keep herself from stepping back. The only panicked thought her brain could muster was that her mouth still tasted like old socks.

To both her relief and disappointment, Michiru stopped and crossed her arms. "I suppose I should try and sleep again if I'm going to be your tour guide tomorrow," she said lightly. "I tend to sleep late, so if I'm still in bed when you get up, feel free to wake me." Then she brushed past Ami into the hall, only stopping to stay goodnight over her shoulder before slipping into her room.

When the door clicked shut, all the energy seemed to drain from Ami's body. She trudged down the hall to the bathroom, feeling hollow. The face in the mirror as she brushed her teeth seemed like a stranger's; surely she didn't look so brittle and affected? Back in her room, she dragged her suitcase off the bed with a lethargic grunt, and barely remembered to turn the bedside lamp this time off before falling back into an uneasy sleep.

* * *

It was the morning sun that woke Ami, pouring rudely in through the open windows. For a moment, she seriously considered cocooning herself in the duvet and pretending the world didn't exist, but in the end she threw off the covers and sighed. It took another moment for her to muster the willpower to actually sit up. She sat on the edge of the bed, her feet dangling just above the hardwood floors, and stretched. The clock on the nightstand claimed it was almost ten, but she still didn't feel completely rested. She picked up her phone, but it was dead – a testament to how flustered she'd been last night. With a sigh, she dug through her book bag to find the charger.

The door to Michiru's room was open as she slipped into the hall, and she could hear the rattle of dishes from the other end of the hall. It felt a little rude to not say good morning but, after last night, Ami wanted to put her best foot forward, so she padded quietly to the bathroom one door down instead. It was a proper Japanese-style bathroom, a fact that had escaped her the night before. She stripped off her night gown and grabbed a huge, fluffy towel from the linen shelf before stepping into the bathroom proper. The tub was the most luxurious she'd ever seen, a cedar behemoth that looked like it belonged in a high-end _ryokan_ , with a complicated climate-control panel behind it. She gave it a long, yearning look, before sitting down at the shower instead. It felt as wonderful as she imagined.

Once she had cleaned up, she walked back to her room to spend long minutes agonizing over her suitcase, pausing only to throw nervous glances at the clock. In the end, she settled on a short-sleeved yellow summer dress with a white cinch. All that was left was to brush her hair and apply a little blush. Finally, she stood in front of the vanity mirror, trying to convince herself she looked fine while anxious corners of her mind whispered that she needed more makeup. Or something less revealing. Or something more revealing?

No. Ami put her mental foot down, silencing all internal debate. She looked fine. This wasn't a big deal. To prove it to herself, she spun and marched over to the door, threw it open, and marched determinedly down the hall before she could stop herself.

In the full light of day, the condo looked even more like a catalogue spread. Michiru was bustling around the table, putting out cutlery, but she turned as Ami strode into the room. She could have stepped right out of the same catalogue, with her sleeveless black-and-white polka dot dress and a giant white bow tied in her hair. A frilly, green-striped apron proclaimed ' _Mit Liebe gemacht!'_ in playful cursive across her chest.

"Good morning!" she said with a beaming smile. _She_ was wearing makeup, a traitorous part of Ami's brain noted.

"Good… morning," Ami replied, stepping up to the table. Her eyes widened at the spread. Despite what she had claimed last night, Michiru must have gotten up early. "You didn't have to do all this!"

"Ahh, but breakfast is very important in Germany!" Michiru admonished, still smiling. "Besides, I bought this all pre-made from the deli down the street. You're not supposed to spend the morning cooking, here, you're supposed to spend it enjoying company."

To hide her flushed cheeks, Ami made a production of pulling out her chair and sitting down while Michiru put on her best tour guide voice.

"So, here we have some _jägerwurst_ – I like that because it isn't too spicy; you'll want to try that with the mustard – _brötchen_ , cherry tomatoes, and for cheese we have Edam, Swiss and, um," Michiru paused, tapping her lip. "Oh, Butterkäse! And for the bread, we have fresh butter, marmalade, and this strawberry-mint jam that I just adore." Hands folded demurely in front of her, she smiled expectantly at Ami.

Ami was tempted to ask how many more people would be joining them, but instead she settled for a simple 'thank you' before sitting down. Her idea of breakfast was more along the lines of however many bites of eggs or toast she remembered to take while studying at the table. It wasn't as heavy as it looked, though, and before she knew it she was using the corner of a crusty roll to get the last bit of jam off of her plate. Michiru objected when she started clearing dishes, at least until she pointed out that they were both guests.

Once that was all squared away, Michiru clapped her hands briskly. "So! Are you ready to do some exploring?"

Ami had to smile at her enthusiasm. Truth be told, she had already run through a dozen potential sightseeing itineraries before stepping into the airport. But, if Michiru wanted it, she was reasonably certain she could emulate spontaneity.

"Sure, let's see what's out there!"

* * *

Nearly twelve hours later, Ami collapsed into a chaise-lounge with a sigh, bags scattered around her. From the hall, she could hear Michiru chatting to the concierge in German as he brought even more bags into the condo. Michiru swept in behind him and pressed something into his hand. He tipped his cap to her and left, shutting the door behind him.

Michiru preferred to do her sightseeing from the inside of shops, as it turned out. Ami had been warned, of course: Haruka and Minako _and_ Rei had all told her that Michiru would want to dress her up, and that she should make her peace with it in advance. Still, their warning hadn't prepared Ami for the reality of shop after shop _after shop._ And when Ami had timidly offered to pay for her own clothes out of the generous amount of spending money her mother had sent her off with, Michiru had looked a hair's breadth from genuinely offended.

She had to admit, it was… more than just fun to be the center of Michiru's attention, to have her eyes rake over her as she stepped out of the dressing room. Michiru was as lavish with compliments as she was with her parents' money, which made it a little easier to... make peace with. Of course, Michiru was just as freehanded when it came to shopping for herself, the evidence of which now seemed to fill half the living room. She was going to have whatever wouldn't fit in their luggage shipped straight back home, as if that were the most reasonable thing in the world.

Fortunately, they did manage to do more than shop. It seemed like every city block in Cologne held a park or a museum or a 600 year-old church. Before she'd left, she had idly mentioned that there was a chocolate museum in Cologne, and Usagi had made her swear – with as grave and solemn an expression as Ami had ever seen on the girl – that Ami would bring some back for her. Michiru had laughed with delight when Ami told her she wanted to go, but one of those bags by the front door held nothing but sweets.

"I could go for some tea." Michiru looked tired, but happy - a combination Ami recognized from many a hard night's swimming. "But, before that, I think I might draw a bath. Do you mind?"

"No, of course not." Either option sounded wonderful at the moment. After Michiru disappeared down the hallway, she sat up and surveyed the room. It would be rude to make tea before Michiru was out of the bath, so with reluctance she stood back up, wincing at the protests of her aching feet. Gathering as many bags as she could hold, she crab-walked sideways down the hall to her room and heaved them onto the bed, then crawled up next to them. She grabbed her phone from the nightstand; she'd left it here to charge, not expecting to be gone the entire day. There were the expected raft of messages from her mother and her friends. She sent a quick group message telling them she was having a great time, and then put the phone back on the table.

With a grunt, she sat back up on the bed. She could still feel a few inklings of jetlag, and the last thing she wanted was to fall asleep fully-clothed again. Maybe Michiru had some melatonin or something she could take…

Her dangling feet kicked idly against the bedframe. She _was_ having a great time, right? The country was beautiful – so alien and so familiar at the same time – the people were lovely, the food was good. Even the chocolate museum had proven to be surprisingly educational. But, she wasn't here to play tourist, right?

So, why was she here? To reconcile with Michiru? In the space of a day, it was already like nothing had ever happened. And as great a relief as that was, part of Ami wished Michiru would bring _something_ up just so she could reassure herself that the whole drama hadn't been in her head the whole time. No, things were alright in that department.

But that was it, right? Wasn't the whole point of coming all of this way to try and make things… more than alright? She'd travelled nine thousand kilometers to sit on this bed, but there was still a distance between them that she didn't know how to cross. Minako had tried to give her advice, but she had brushed it off; the only thing that rankled her more than having to ask for help with a problem was having someone assume she needed it. Even if she did. _Particularly_ if she did.

And, yes, she had tried to do her 'homework', as Minako had called it, but it wasn't as if you could just buy a manual. Not when you were only seventeen, and especially not if you were Ami Mizuno. She had done some tentative… investigation into the actual mechanics online, but that had only provided a mortifying insight into the scope of her own ignorance. The mosaic filters didn't help either.

She could do nothing. Michiru wouldn't hold it against her, not openly. But, no, the idea galled her. She'd already learned all she could from running and hiding. This wasn't a summer vacation, she was here to learn at the hands of… that is, to study beneath…

Ami stood up, cheeks burning. This was ridiculous. Michiru was mere meters away; she could hear the water rushing through the pipes in the wall. Just… close the distance!

The first step she took through the door surprised her so much that she was able to take a few more while she wrestled her own thoughts. By the time she had regained the upper hand, sheer inertia had carried her into the hall. The sound of water was louder here, streaming through the bathroom door that Michiru had left open a hand's width. She took a few more faltering steps towards it, drawn forwards with her heart in her throat. For a minute she just stood in front of it, until the sudden thought of Michiru catching her standing there staring jerked her from her reverie. She raised her hand to knock, and then lowered it.

At the time, picking up the phone and calling Michiru, telling her that, yes, she wanted to come – that had seemed like the hardest thing she'd ever done. She'd spent long minutes with her phone cradled in her hand, staring at Michiru's name in her contact list. Occasionally, her thumb would hover over the screen for a few seconds before she drew it back. Eventually, it was the memory of that goodbye voicemail that had steeled her. Of all the words it left unsaid.

She knocked.

"Yes?" Michiru's voice, carried through two doors, had a reedy timbre.

Ami took a deep breath, and pushed open the door. "I thought… that is, I was wondering if you wanted to have a bath. T-together, I mean," she said, cringing internally at her stutter.

"Of course, darling, that sounds wonderful," came Michiru's reply. "There should be extra towels and cloths there for you. Just throw your dress in the bin there, we have laundry coming tomorrow."

Remember to breathe, Ami reminded herself as her fingers found the buttons at the collar of her dress. She had showered with Michiru dozens of times. This was familiar territory, nothing new and terrifying here. Not at all.

"Your timing is excellent, actually. I'm just finishing my shower, so you can sit down right away." Michiru's voice continued as Ami's dress slid off of her shoulders. "This is quite exciting. They have public baths here in Germany, you know, dreadfully large things. You can actually have a doctor prescribe a trip to one, can you imagine? They're co-ed, though, so I've never felt comfortable using one myself. You can't really have a bath with someone with the tiny bathtubs they have in homes here, sadly. In fact, you can barely fit a single person; it's ridiculous. I'm so glad my cousin had this proper one… installed…"

Michiru's words died as Ami slid the shower door open. She sat on the shower stool, her wet hair a deep kelp green where it curled around her straight back and squared shoulders, the shower head forgotten in her hand. Her eyes felt like fire against Ami's bare skin, and Ami turned to hang her towel on the wall to escape her gaze, however briefly. It wasn't until she turned back and met Michiru's eyes that she realized it had been her only defense, and so she stood there, feeling truly naked on a level she had never experienced, her whole face aflame.

Michiru rose to her feet in a smooth motion and gestured towards the wooden stool. "Have a seat."

"Okay," replied Ami faintly. In the mirror, Michiru knelt onto the white tile behind her as she did and she swallowed nervously.

"Would you like me wash your hair?"

"A-alright." Michiru's reflection gave her a smile that was somehow both reassuring and sultry.

The feel of her fingers gliding through Ami's hair was indescribable. It was both maddening and wonderful how they moved in languid lines that were too random for her brain to predict. Sometimes the nails would rake gently across her scalp, from her brow to the nape of her neck and back, making Ami's eyelashes flutter as a sigh of bliss escaped her lips.

"You've grown your hair out a bit," Michiru murmured into her ear, sending a hot chill down that whole side of her body. "I've been meaning to say, I quite like it." Her fingers never slowed in their tempo, and Ami made a noise she prayed at least resembled a 'thank you'.

Eventually, Michiru's fingers withdrew and Ami felt hands rest on her shoulders and begin to knead slowly. With great reluctance, she opened her eyes – when had she closed them? – and met Michiru's in the mirror.

"I…" Deep breath. "I don't want to come between you and Haruka." It sounded even more awkward out loud than it had in her head, but it didn't matter. If she didn't say it now, she had a feeling she wouldn't get another chance and, even if it killed the mood, it was what she should have said months ago. Instead of running. Instead of hiding.

Michiru's fingers didn't hesitate as they glided over her shoulders and in towards her neck. In the mirror, the corner of Michiru's mouth curled up, and she leaned forward to softly kiss the back of Ami's head.

"Good."

And then she rose silently from her knees and stepped over to the bath. Rapt, Ami watched her muscles tighten and flex as she lifted first one leg and then the other, lowering them gingerly into the steaming water. With a breathy 'ahhh', she sank down to her shoulders, and water splashed over the rim of the tub as she pushed herself over to one side. Once she had settled herself, her eyes turned back to Ami and she cocked her head in unspoken invitation.

Ami stood on unsteady legs and put the shower head carefully back on its bracket before switching the water off. With that little iota of stalling exhausted, she turned and approached the bath, willing herself to stay calm. She barely noticed the heat as she stepped into the water; instead, Ami watched the waves eddy and lap at the glistening underswell of Michiru's breasts.

Michiru raised her arms to draw her hair away from her neck, her eyes huge, dancing with nervous energy. She looked so young, suddenly, with her hands clutching her hair. So vulnerable. It was easy to forget sometimes that she wasn't even six months older than Ami. It made her suddenly conscious that she was just standing there, towering over her and gawking.

Michiru had left space to sit next to her, but instead she took a quick step forward, sending the water swirling. Michiru's eyes went even wider as she sank to one knee next to her. Both hands went out to the edge of the bath, trapping Michiru between them and steadying Ami's body a few inches above hers. The color in Michiru's cheeks could have been from the heat, as could the short breaths she took through barely-parted lips. It could have been, but Ami knew it wasn't.

For a moment she felt the same sense of intense tunnel vision she had when Michiru kissed her, and part of her idly wondered what random minutia she would remember of this moment. And then their lips touched. In the absence of any rational thought, her brain kicked automatically into exam mode, throwing out bits and pieces of the unsolicited advice Minako had given to her before she left. Gentle at first. Slow breaths. Eyes closed.

Ami broke the kiss first, trying to wrangle her thoughts, but her body seemed to have its own plan. Her lips caught Michiru's again, harder this time. ' _Use your tongue!'_ Minako's voice hissed inside her head, and she did, without really understanding how or why, just darting the tip across Michiru's mouth. She felt a split-second of panic at her own boldness, but Michiru made a noise from deep in her chest that made Ami's thighs clench. She tried it once more, and this time Michiru's tongue was there, dancing against hers, coaxing a moan from her own throat.

She heard the splash of water, and then Michiru's fingers were snaking into her hair, pulling their mouths firmly together. Ami responded in kind, releasing the bath to cup Michiru's cheek with one hand and, after a moment's indecision, wrapped her other arm around her midsection. Michiru made a sort of sighing sound, and her other hand trailed torturously down Ami's spine to the small of her back before pulling Ami's body tight against her own. Ami gasped at the sudden sensory overload, and Michiru took advantage of her momentary weakness, pushing her hot tongue deep into her mouth.

Finally, Ami had to pull away, panting for breath and lightheaded. Part of her was trying to categorize and file away everything, how and where and when Michiru touched her, but her brain felt like it was sloshing around in her head like the bathwater. At some point she had rolled over so the two of them were side by side, but the last few… minutes? hours? …were a wonderful haze.

Michiru still held her close, nuzzling into the nape of her neck and trailing her fingers up and down Ami's leg. "You're a quick study," she said with a teasing lilt. "But, that's hardly a surprise, I suppose."

"I… tried to do my homework."

Michiru pulled her head up to look at Ami with a wry smile. "Oh?"

"It's important to have… a strong… a strong…," Michiru was brushing the tips of her fingers up her inner thigh, causing momentary brownouts in her brain, "… a strong theoretical foundation!" She managed to squeak out the last few syllables as Michiru's fingers crept higher, to Michiru's obvious amusement. She leaned forward and captured Ami's mouth again, but she only teased Ami's tongue for a few brief seconds before breaking off. Ami made a noise of frustrated complaint that turned into a squeal of surprise as Michiru suddenly scooped her up with both arms. Water splashed everywhere as she struggled without thinking, but a second later she found herself plopped in Michiru's lap with both of Michiru's arms wrapped snugly around her.

"Are you ready to move from theory to practice?" Michiru whispered silkily into her ear. Ami could feel the softness of her breasts pressed against her back.

"I-I want to touch you, too," she objected weakly.

"You will." Michiru punctuated her promise by flicking Ami's earlobe with her tongue. Ami's eyes popped at the sensation and she gasped, writhing in Michiru's embrace. Michiru laughed softly, and unwound her left arm from her midsection, returning her fingers to gently stroking Ami's thigh. Ami's breath caught and her muscles twitched, instinctively trying to close her legs. She couldn't, though - her legs were splayed wide on either side of Michiru's, and Ami was suddenly aware of how thoroughly… accessible she was in this position.

And Michiru seemed to be perfectly happy to exploit this position. She buried her face into Ami's neck, kissing slowly down from behind her ear to the top of her shoulder and back up. Ami sighed, lolling her head to the side to give her as much access as possible. Michiru's right hand slid upwards, tracing a lazy line over her stomach and ribs to cup her breast in her palm. She made an appreciative noise before nipping at Ami's earlobe gently with her teeth, and soon her other hand joined in, squeezing and kneading her other breast.

All of the breath in Ami's body left her in a rush when Michiru caught a nipple between two fingers, pinching and twisting and worrying it until it was aching and swollen, a point of throbbing heat that matched the one growing between her legs. Her other nipple received the same treatment as Michiru slid her tongue slowly up the rim of her ear, until Ami was all but panting in need. One of her hands was holding white-knuckled onto the side of the tub, her nails digging into the wood as she tried to ground some of the energy that sizzled through her nervous system. Her other had come up to seize a wet handful of Michiru's hair at some point, but she couldn't have let go if she wanted to.

"Touch yourself, if you want," Michiru said, before sending her tongue to tease agonizingly into Ami's ear.

It was tempting. So very tempting, but…

"I want… _you_ to!" Ami managed to say. She could hear the petulance in her voice, but she didn't care. She hadn't come halfway around the world to masturbate in the bath. She'd done enough of that this summer, thanks to Michiru.

Michiru chuckled into her ear, sending buzzing sparks all down Ami's side. Her left hand ceased its ministrations, leaving her nipple flushed and straining in the open air. For once she didn't tease; her hand dipped beneath the surface of the water and cupped Ami's whole sex. Ami exhaled sharply, her hips thrusting forward of their own volition at even the promise of relief.

Michiru pulled up her knees a bit, causing Ami's legs to spread even wider. She could feel herself open to the enveloping heat of the water. Then Michiru's fingers spread her open even further, sliding smoothly through her furrowed lips.

"Ohhh," she cooed as they reached the top of her slit and began swirling in slow, firm circles. She arched her back, trying to push harder against them. Michiru obliged her unspoken need, rolling her clit roughly between two fingers. Ami sagged back against her, marvelling at her own response. She was no stranger to her own body; how, then, was it possible that this should feel so, _so_ much better? Was is just a matter of skill? Feverishly, she tried to analyze what Michiru was doing to her, but her thoughts processes, her perception, seemed to be breaking down. Her body felt like it was dissolving into the water, leaving nothing but a single, white-hot point to seethe and flare.

Suddenly, Michiru's voice was whispering huskily into her ear. "Ami…" she said, drawing out the second syllable. "Do you know anything about playing the violin?"

Ami rolled her head from side to side, not really understanding, her brain unwilling to waste precious focus on questions.

"No?" Michiru said with mock disappointment. "Then, for your first lesson, this is something we call _vibrato_ …"

Before she could protest her confusion, Ami felt a change. The rough throb of pleasure between her legs became a pulse - a quick, energetic rhythm that soon had her breath coming in short gasps.

"That's a half-semitone," Michiru said conversationally. "Now, for something a little more dramatic, we can try a full semitone…"

Ami made a choked cry out as the pulse redoubled in vigor, and again when Michiru seized her nipple between her fingers, pulling and pinching to the very edge of pain. Her tongue traced whorls up and down Ami's sensitive throat before she latched on, just below her jaw, and began to suck leisurely.

That was all Ami's body could take. A wail tore from her throat that the clouds of steam hanging above them couldn't swallow as she came. Every muscle in her body curled and seized, like it was trying to collapse into a single, glorious infinitesimal. Michiru never lost her rhythm as she bucked and twisted, until Ami's body exhausted its crescendo and she fell back to Earth.

When she could finally piece a lucid thought together, Ami found herself staring at the ceiling. Her head was resting on Michiru's shoulder and Michiru had one hand on her hip, while the other stroked hypnotically up and down her stomach. She had never felt so utterly spent, and she wanted nothing more than to lay there forever.

"Now I understand why Rei and Usagi have barely left her house in ten days," she sighed.

Hmm. Not _exactly_ the florid compliments that she had intended. Michiru laughed softly anyway.

"What I mean is, I'm so glad I came."

"It certainly sounded like it," Michiru murmured coyly.

To her immense pride, Ami barely blushed, though a denial formed on her lips before she caught herself. The very last thing she wanted to do was even _suggest_ that she hadn't enjoyed herself.

"That _was_ amazing –" She felt color spill into her cheeks. Damn it. "– but, I meant that I'm really glad that… that you gave me a second chance after I acted like such a-a child."

Michiru's hand on her stomach froze mid-stroke. Ami craned her head to see Michiru looking down at her with a blank expression. To her shock, she seemed to be on the verge of tears.

"What a thing to say…" she said in a brittle whisper before wrapping both arms around Ami and squeezing the two of them tightly together. Ami turned onto her side, cradling her head against Michiru's neck, letting the sound of her heartbeat lull her.

"How about we agree that both of us could have handled things better back then, and put it all behind us?" Michiru's voice was calmer now.

"Deal. Hey!" she squeaked as Michiru slid one hand under her bum and scooped her up, turning her so she was sitting sideways on Michiru's lap. Any further protests were silenced by Michiru's mouth against her.

It was incredible how quickly her body responded to the feeling of Michiru's tongue in her mouth, some distant part of Ami's mind noted. She was trying to figure out the best way to ask Michiru to touch her the way she had before when Michiru broke away with a sigh.

"Well… I suppose we had better get out of the bath."

Ami didn't pout, but she came close. "What? How come? I want-"

Michiru silenced her gently with a finger. "This bath keeps the water hot automatically. We could get heat stroke if we're in here much longer."

Ami squinted at the clock on the bath controls. If it was correct, they had been in the bath nearly… half an hour? Really?

Reluctantly, she released Michiru and tried to stand, only to discover her legs weren't quite steady.

"Easy, there," Michiru said, grabbing Ami by the shoulders as she sat back down. "Let me…" She stood up in a single graceful motion. Ami watch the water stream down her body, pink from the heat from her shoulders down. Somehow she seemed much more, well, _naked_ than she had earlier. Her gaze caught Michiru's eye, and she winked at Ami before stepping daintily out of the tub.

Ami took her hand when it was offered and climbed out as well, her own nudity forgotten for the moment. She watched as Michiru strolled over and slipped on a terrycloth robe hanging on the back of the door, then grabbed a towel and began to dry her hair. When Ami stepped forward to do the same, Michiru stopped her with a finger.

"Just a moment, please," she said, with a hint of command in her voice. She patted her hair a few more times before tossing the towel into a hamper. Then she grabbed another one from the shelf and tossed it towards Ami, who caught it without thinking.

"Don't be long," she said with a sly smile. She blew Ami a kiss and then slipped out the door.

Ami dried herself in record time and ran her fingers through her hair before the mirror, cursing herself for forgetting to bring a comb. When she was satisfied that she didn't look like a total disaster, she took a breath and threw open the door.

The hall was dark and empty, except for a mound of white lying puddled before the guestroom door: Michiru's robe, artfully discarded. Ami considered it a moment as she walked towards her room. She had left the lights on before coming to the bath, but her room was dark as she stepped into its threshold.

Michiru was barely visible perched on the edge of her bed, still as a summer lake, her skin glowing where the starlight kissed it. Ami drew the towel off of her body and, slowly, deliberately, let it fall atop Michiru's robe. And then she stepped forward, closing the door behind her.

* * *

Author's Notes

So.

Funny story: round about eleven months ago, I asked a very special lady to marry me. The good news is: she did! Unfortunately, no one tells you what a huge, time-consuming undertaking it is. That, to a large degree, is why this chapter took so very, very long to come out. I mean, five months isn't long by fanfiction standards, but still. Also, it's long! Like, longer than the first two chapters combined (at least, the PG rated versions).

So, as a reward for your patience, I decided to leave the good stuff in the FF version for once. That's right, 100% of the smut in a single click! That being said, for the full, uncensored versions of _all_ chapters, head over to AO3 and look me up under the pseud **balambfish**. You won't be disappointed!

Thanks to all my readers old new, and special thanks to TheDrifter for her constant feedback and support!

Also, shout out to Middlen, who started following this story literally hours ago! Good timing!

Peace,

BF

PS: do yourself a favor and look up the violin solo from _Scheherazade_. I'm not the type of writer to litter my story with naive reader instructions to listen to music, but this is something special!


	5. Milestone 4 - SME Consultation

**Project: Venus**

Milestone 4: SME Consultation

* * *

"Hey, where do glasses go again? I - oh shi-," Minako's words were interrupted by the ungodly clangor of a pan hitting the tile floor, making Setsuna wince. Her lips pressed into a line as she turned a page of her book, deliberately not looking over at the commotion. If that had chipped the tile, Michiru would never let any of them hear the end of it.

"Let me get that," came Hotaru's pained voice.

"I'll grab some paper towels…" Minako said nervously. Setsuna's eyes flicked over to the two of them against her will. Water and soap suds were everywhere, and Hotaru crouched down to pick up the offending pan as Minako rushed over with a crumpled handful of paper towel. Off to the side, Haruka leaned against the counter and watched, pretending to look at her phone and trying not to smile. Minako fell to her knees and began to mop furiously at the floor, causing her borrowed shirt to ride up well over her hips.

After Hotaru's lecture about wandering the house half-naked, Minako had run upstairs to 'get dressed', which, from Setsuna's angle, apparently meant wriggling into a lacy thong and not much else. It certainly did little to detract from the lovely sight of Minako's well-toned backside as it bounced hypnotically in time with her scrubbing.

She wasn't the only voyeur in the kitchen – Haruka still had her phone in hand, but her gaze was locked on Minako's impromptu show. She gave a little start when she noticed Setsuna looking at her. Setsuna arched her eyebrows suggestively, and she hurriedly returned to staring intently at her phone, her face turning a charming pink.

Setsuna returned to her book, trying not to smile herself, while Minako continued to fuss insistently and Hotaru continued to console her. As disruptive as it was, Minako's presence breathed some much-needed life into the house. It was good to see more smiles around here. Eventually, despite Minako's assistance, they got breakfast cleared away, and started discussing the day's plans.

"Do you guys wanna come to the Crown later? We're all meeting up!"

"Everyone? Are Rei and Usagi finally emerging from their love nest?" Haruka teased.

"I'm not one to indulge in speculation," said Minako peevishly. "But, yes, they said they would be there."

"Well, that is very tempting…"

"Haruka," Hotaru said sternly.

"… but I'm afraid I already promised to take Hotaru shopping this afternoon."

"And then we're going to Comiket!" The excitement was audible in Hotaru's voice.

"Yaaaaay…"

Setsuna glanced over again at the mention of shopping. The red floral dress Hotaru wore was a good 10 cm higher above her knees than it had been at the start of the school year, and it looked uncomfortably tight in the chest. She shook her head. In April, Hotaru hadn't even worn a training bra, but the poor girl was burning through puberty like a wildfire. She was almost as tall as Minako now, with none of the frailty and pallor that Setsuna remembered her having in her previous life. If this kept up, she was going to have to talk to Artemis about altering her birth records again.

It wasn't just her height, either. Hotaru had already tested out of three different grades, and Setsuna suspected she wasn't learning the material so much as she was remembering it. She knew Haruka and Michiru were already talking about moving her up to high school at the end of the summer.

Hotaru was all for it, she knew, mostly out of eagerness to be in school with the other girls. Maybe it would be best if she put in an encouraging word. It would be good for her to build closer bonds with them, like Haruka and Michiru had by spending their senior year at Juuban High. It might also help her two would-be parents to see her as a young woman, and not a little girl. Hotaru was very patient with them, more than Setsuna would have been, but the 'Mamas' and 'Papas' had stopped almost a year ago, and they were still having trouble adjusting. Hotaru complained to her about it sometimes, but Setsuna didn't mind. She understood how people's hang-ups over the idea of 'physical age' could be frustrating.

Finally, the three of them said their goodbyes, and Setsuna leaned back in her chair, her mind turning to her own schedule. She was having dinner with the CPO of BEAMS, after their 'coincidental' meeting in Beijing, and then-

"Whatcha reading?"

Setsuna lowered her book to her lap and looked up to see Minako standing next to the table sporting her trademark winning smile. Up close she could see the degree to which the poor shirt was struggling to contain Minako's more voluptuous frame. Haruka only bought slim-fit and off-the-rack (and pouted incessantly if forced to be properly fitted, as Setsuna knew from personal experience). She could see the top three buttons straining mightily around Minako's bust, and that darted waist was never going to stay put around her wider hips, no matter how often she tried to pull it down. Setsuna had to admit it was quite attractive on her, though it pained her to see people wearing clothes that didn't fit.

Right. The book. She flipped it over to peer at the title. " _Slaughterhouse Five_."

Her distraction wasn't lost on Minako, who grinned coquettishly and straightened her shoulders, causing the shirt to tighten even further around her chest. "That's a weird name, what's it about?"

Setsuna hesitated. "The Second World War," she said finally. "Sort of."

"Oh." Minako seemed to instantly lose interest. For a few awkward seconds she stood there in silence.

"So…?"

"Oh! Um, you were a little quiet back there, so… did you wanna come out with everyone this afternoon? I feel like we haven't seen you in forever."

"I wish I could," Setsuna said with complete honesty. "But I'm afraid I have dinner plans."

"Ooh, a date?" Minako asked excitedly.

"Not as such," Setsuna replied. "Merely a potential business partner."

Minako was undeterred. "Alright, well, next time then! I know you don't exactly get summer vacation, but that doesn't mean you can't have some fun with us once in a while."

Setsuna couldn't help but smile at her earnest tone. "I will, I promise. Things are just a little… hectic right now, with my new line coming out in the fall."

"Oh, that reminds me!" Minako exclaimed as she took a seat across from her at the table. "Thanks again for, uh, freeing up Haruka's schedule the other day."

"Not at all. Hotaru and I had a wonderful time, actually, and she was a natural at the shoot. I'll be sure to show you the shots when they cross my desk." One of these days, she would corner Haruka, though. That girl was _born_ for the catwalk. "It sounds like your little project is proceeding to your satisfaction?"

"Pretty much, yeah," Minako said, fingering her shirt collar. "I guess we'll see how things go with Michiru and Ami tonight, hopefully. Unless you want to weigh in…?"

Setsuna shook her head. "You know the rules. No comment."

Minako sighed theatrically. "Well, can't blame a girl for trying." A sly grin spread across her face. "In fact, on that note… there's been something I've been meaning to ask you."

Setsuna closed her book and set it carefully on the table, keeping her face neutral. "And what would that be?"

"Is there… you know…" Minako paused to search for words. "Do you have anyone you like? I'm happy to help, I mean, I'm sure you don't need it or anything, but…. I don't wanna brag, but I'm kind of on a roll at the moment. You know, in the cupid department."

Resting both elbows on the table, Setsuna leaned forward. "Do you mean like you you've been 'helping' Haruka?" she asked with a coy smile.

"N-no, nothing like that," Minako stuttered, color painting her cheeks. She jumped in her seat as Setsuna stood up abruptly.

"No?" Setsuna stepped slowly around the table until she was right next to Minako's chair, forcing her to crane her head up to meet her eyes. "I can't honestly say it's never… crossed my mind." _Especially_ after having to listen to her and Haruka all morning. She watched Minako's throat bob as she swallowed. Between travel time and getting ready at home, she had a good three hours to kill this afternoon before dinner, by her reckoning. More than enough time for a pleasant distraction. "There might be something you can assist me with, now that you mention it," she drawled. "I'm afraid my duties make any kind of long-term affair quite impossible, as I'm sure you can understand. But, that I doesn't mean that I don't need to… indulge myself. From time to time." Minako's eyes widened as Setsuna raised her hand, dragging one manicured fingernail along her pale neck to the point of her chin, forcing her head to tilt up even further. "I _do_ expect absolute discretion when it comes to my personal life. That's non-negotiable, I'm afraid. I take it that would not be an issue?"

Minako gave the tiniest shake of her head, her nostrils flaring.

"Excellent," Setsuna said briskly, letting Minako's chin fall as she stepped back. "I have a few things to tie up. Wait for me in my bedroom, please."

Minako nodded slowly, then rose to her feet and walked slowly out of the kitchen, casting dazed glances backwards that Setsuna met with a reassuring smile.

Setsuna took her time, humming happily to herself as she checked her phone calendar. No appointments, of course, but it was best to be sure. She'd had a vague inkling that something interesting might happen this afternoon when creating her schedule, but this was a most unexpected and pleasant development. She smiled to herself. Little surprises like these were what made living in linear time bearable.

She made her way upstairs, in no particular rush, and took a quick detour to freshen up. After some consideration, she swapped out her nude lipstick for a deep, lustrous cherry before undoing her bun and shaking it out, letting her hair spill out around her shoulders. She debated brushing it out, but eventually decided against it. It wouldn't do to leave Minako stewing for _too_ long, after all. A pity she hadn't known to wear something a little more enticing, but such was the price of spontaneity. Besides, business wear would fit quite well into the little narrative she was concocting.

Minako sat up straight when she finally strode through the open door of her bedroom, knees together and hands clasped anxiously in her lap as she perched on the edge of Setsuna's bed. Setsuna made no effort to acknowledge her; instead she strolled over to her wardrobe and carefully removed and hung her jacket, not saying a word.

The click of the wardrobe closing echoed through the room's ripe silence, and Minako let out a squeak as Setsuna turned sharply on her heel to face her for the first time. Her hands clenched and her chest rose and fell a little faster as Setsuna stalked towards her with slow, sinuous steps, but her gaze never wavered. Setsuna was glad to see only nervous anticipation in those wide, blue eyes, without a trace of fear or unease.

She stopped a few paces from the bed and crossed her arms. "Before we begin, I want to lay out one important ground rule. I will do my best to not give you more than I think you can handle, but I'm not a mind reader. If anything we do makes you feel uncomfortable, or unsafe, or if you want or need to stop for any reason, you _must_ tell me. I promise I won't hold it against you. Do you understand?"

Minako sat up straight and licked her lips. "I… understand."

Setsuna gave her a smoky smile. "Good." She stepped forward in front of Minako and bent over until their faces were nearly level. Reaching out, she toyed with one of the shirt buttons that had so captured her interest earlier, tapping it idly with her fingernail as she her eyes bored into Minako's.

"You know," she said slowly, "I suspect you are one deep breath away from shooting half of these buttons across the room." Minako opened her mouth to respond, but Setsuna cut her off. "And who do you suppose would end up having to sew them back on, hmm?" she continued, letting a touch of sternness enter her voice. "Haruka, who barely knows one end of a needle from the other? Michiru, who would just as soon buy a new shirt as even lift a finger?"

"I-I'm sorry," Minako said in a near-whisper.

"Are you, now," murmured Setsuna. She let her finger wander, her nail tracing a thin line over Minako's breast to where her nipple already strained impatiently against the fabric. She gave it an experimental flick, a fairly hard one, and Minako hissed sharply through her teeth. Such a lovely sound.

She stood up straight with an abruptness that left Minako blinking in confusion. Crossing her arms, she peered down. "Take the shirt off, please," she instructed briskly.

Minako's hands trembled ever so slightly as they rose and began to undo the buttons. It was slow going at first, and the color in her cheeks deepened each time she fumbled beneath Setsuna's demanding gaze. When the final one was undone, Minako began to shrug the shirt from her shoulders, but Setsuna ordered her to stop.

Her hands hovered uncertainly before her chest, but she didn't resist as Setsuna took both of her wrists and guided them behind her back. She did shiver slightly as Setsuna gripped the lapels of her shirt and pushed it off her shoulders and down to her elbows, trapping her arms. It wouldn't prevent any serious attempt at escape, of course, but that was alright. It was really just a… statement of intent – one that Minako seemed to grasp, judging by the way the anxious way her thighs were already squeezing together. She would have to put a stop to that at some point, naturally, but for the moment she was content to let Minako wind herself up a little.

She reached up and brushed Minako's cheek, feeling the heat of her blush under her fingers as Minako made a happy noise and nuzzled back against her hand. Pushing her chin gently to the side, she let her eyes glide down that pale neck, where they found an angry-looking welt, just above her collarbone.

"My, my, my," she said with mock surprise. "Did Haruka give you a little something to remember her by this morning? Did you enjoy it?"

Minako flushed. "I… yes…"

Setsuna arched an eyebrow. "'Yes', what?"

A look of alarm flickered across Minako's face. "Yes… M-mistress?"

Setsuna blinked in surprise a few times before giving a throaty chuckle. Reaching forward, she cupped Minako's chin, brushing her thumb over her lips. "I don't think we need to go _quite_ that far, my dear." Not today, at least. "We're just two friends having some fun, after all." Minako's eyes popped open as she seized her lower lip between her thumb and forefinger. "That being said, if I ask you a question, I expect a clear answer, understood?" Wide-eyed, Minako gave a short nod. Satisfied, Setsuna released her lip before pushing her thumb into Minako's mouth. Minako made a guttural noise in the back of her throat, and her eyelashes fluttered closed.

"Good girl," Setsuna purred as Minako's hot tongue curled eagerly around her thumb. The feeling sent a jolt of electricity between her legs, but she ignored it for the moment. All things in their time.

She let Minako suckle her thumb for only a brief time; the girl was obviously desperate for any kind of stimulation, and she didn't want to give even this tidbit to her _too_ easily. She drew her thumb back from the warm recesses of Minako's mouth and used it to paint a glistening trail over her chin and down her throat. She pressed her hand flat between Minako's breasts to feel the faint thrum of her heartbeat racing beneath her palm before slowly, insistently pushing Minako down onto the bed.

Setsuna stepped forward, resting one knee on the bed while her other leg pushed between Minako's knees to prevent her from further stimulating herself. With her arms crossed behind her back, Minako's chest arched sharply from the bed, throwing her ribs visibly into relief and making her nipples jut obscenely into the open air. For fun, she reached down and tweaked one. Not _too_ hard, although you wouldn't have known it from the squeal Minako made.

Smiling to herself, Setsuna shifted to cup Minako's waist with both hands. She bent her head down until her face was close enough to Minako's stomach that she could see each tiny strand of peach fuzz, every goose bump that rose where her warm breath touched pale skin. Ever so gently, she extended the tip of her tongue to brush the spot just above her navel, and dragged it up, up over her belly to the bottom of her ribcage. She did that a few times, each time pushing a little firmer, moving a little slower, letting her tongue spread a little more against her skin. Minako let out a little mewl of disappointment each time she stopped, and her hips twisted under Setsuna's hands. The next time, she let her tongue wander down instead of up, making a tight circuit around her navel before pushing it inside, just for a second. Minako's head rose off the bed for half a second before crashing back down as she arched her back even further.

Setsuna took the opportunity to slide her hands up and around Minako's flank. Back muscles rippled beneath her fingers as her palms brushed over her ribs. Setsuna slid herself forward and, after a moment of consideration, decided to be merciful. Minako groaned as she cupped and squeezed her breasts in both hands, her fingers sinking into warm, soft flesh as she kneaded them roughly.

Now was the time to escalate things, perhaps. Setsuna leaned down and took one plump, pink nipple between her teeth, and at the same time brought her knee forward to push forcefully between Minako's legs. Minako made a choked sound and her body froze, seemingly unable to handle the sudden increase in stimulation, but Setsuna was unfazed. She lashed her captive nipple with her tongue and twisted the other between her fingers, and soon enough Minako's hips began to buck against her.

When Minako begin to pant, Setsuna sucked her nipple into her mouth until her cheeks hollowed, and then released it with a smack of her lips. She couldn't help grin as she looked down at her handiwork: Minako's nipple stood red and wet in the center of a perfect lipstick mark. She was tempted to try and repeat the feat on her other nipple, but from the sounds Minako was making, that would be a risky proposition.

Minako's forehead and cheeks glistened with perspiration, and her eyes her were squeezed tight as she continued to squirm against Setsuna's leg. She opened one eye and pouted playfully as Setsuna sat up, trying to lace her legs around Setsuna's waist and pull her back. Setsuna responded with a stern look, but Minako just bit her lip and closed her eyes again.

Well, then.

She had been considering showing Minako some mercy. But, perhaps what she really needed was a little… clarification… regarding who was playing with whom.

"Spread your legs," she ordered. Minako, unsurprisingly, quickly obeyed. What did surprise her was the second love bite staring up at her from Minako's inner thigh. She tsked, and dragged her fingernail around it. Who would have thought that Haruka was the territory-marking type? To her surprise, she felt the tiniest twinge of jealousy, but she snuffed it out. This wasn't a competition, after all; it was very likely that Minako didn't even know the mark was there.

She ran the flat of her palm up Minako's leg to brush her fingers carefully over the swell of her mound, ignoring the way her hips leapt forward at her touch. Delicate cérès lace whispered under her fingertips, white satin silk and gold thread worked into a triangle of flowers and vines that left _very_ little to the imagination from this close. Carine Gilson's summer line, if she wasn't mistaken. Setsuna would have chosen yellow mimosa over white, of course - the better to compliment Minako's hair and colouring – but they were still a lovely little trifle. Minako made a throaty noise as she brushed her thumb down the slickly sodden gusset. Did she know she was making a mess of some _fantastically_ expensive lingerie? Probably not. Michiru liked to preen from time to time, but she wasn't one to crow about price tags.

Her thumb stroked slowly up and down, each time a little firmer, until Minako was gasping and pushing her hips against her hand on each upstroke. To her credit, she didn't buck or twist the way some girls would have, though Setsuna could see the effort it was taking to restrain herself. She reached up with her free hand and squeezed Minako's breast roughly, her fingers sinking into warm flesh, and then Minako did squirm, throwing her shoulders back as she pushed her chest up against Setsuna's hand.

"Feeling greedy, are we?" Setsuna asked wryly. She jammed the ball of her thumb firmly against her mound, rolling the firm nub of Minako's clit through the slick satin. "Do you want to cum, is that it?" Minako jerked as if struck and nodded quickly, her eyes squeezed shut and her lips parted.

"Was that a yes? I can't _hear_ you," Setstuna said sharply. She grasped Minako's nipple between her thumb and forefinger and pulled it taut as a friendly reminder.

Minako's eyes popped open. "Yes, I want to cum! Yes, I want to cum! Sorry!" Her head sagged back down as Setsuna released her nipple.

"I suppose that was a rather obvious answer, wasn't it, darling?" Setsuna let a touch of amusement enter her voice as she toyed with that nipple with the tip of her nail. "Clearly, Haruka has been spoiling you." Minako's hips made a single, frustrated thrust as she withdrew her teasing thumb. Setsuna leaned forward until her fully-clothed body was suspended completely over Minako's nearly naked one. Her fingers brushed Minako's cheek softly, and Minako responded by nuzzling against her hand, her huge, blue eyes locked on Setsuna's. She lowered her face, and Minako stretched her neck forward to meet her. Instead, she cupped Minako's chin in her hand and pulled her face firmly to the side.

"In this bed, Minako, pleasure is a privilege that is _earned_." Her lips ever so lightly brushed the lobes of Minako's ear. "Do you understand?"

"Yes. Yes, I understand," came the breathless reply.

"Wonderful." Setsuna helped her to a sitting position and then stood up from the bed. "Stand up, please," she instructed. Minako rose gracefully to her feet, but her face brimmed with uncertainty. It was a simple matter to free her arms from the improvised bondage of Haruka's shirt, and she tossed it aside as Minako stretched her arms above her head. To her satisfaction, her lipstick mark was still intact, standing out beautifully on that pale breast. Perfect.

"Do not move," she ordered before striding over to her wardrobe and throwing it open. Tapping her finger to her lips, she considered her options. In a discrete box at the base of her wardrobe were fifteen meters of treated silk rope and a number of other goodies… but, perhaps it was best to keep things simple for today. Instead, she drew a long, black chiffon scarf off of a hook on the wardrobe door and ran her thumb over the smooth material. This would do nicely.

Setsuna turned to find Minako on her knees, hands folded demurely in her lap as she looked up at Setsuna. She looked… positively docile. It was at least partly an act, of course, but it still sent a raw, red bolt of desire through her. For a long moment she debated digging her toy box out of the wardrobe after all. Ah, if only they had more time. Such was the story of her life.

Still, she made a mental note: such initiative should be rewarded. She smiled. The difference between passivity and submission could be difficult for some to understand at first, but Minako was always so eager to please, so hungry for approbation. That need could be used against her to terrible effect, Setsuna knew. Minako was just coming to understand her own desires and was still painfully naïve in some ways. Fortunately, she was in safe and experienced hands.

She wound the scarf into a Prusik knot in her fingers almost unconsciously as she walked forward. Minako caught sight of the scarf and blushed, but she folded her arms behind her back without Setsuna having to say a word, sending another hungry jolt through her. She stepped behind Minako and knelt down to slip the makeshift cuffs over her wrists. "These can get quite tight if you move around too much," she murmured in her ear as she did. "If they become uncomfortable, tell me immediately." Minako turned her head to the side and nodded.

"Good." She rose smoothly to her feet and stepped back into Minako's field of view. "Since you're being so well-behaved, I will permit you to watch me undress." Minako sat up a little straighter, an eager smile on her face.

Desire to put on a good show battled with her growing need. She pulled her suspenders from her shoulders and let them fall to her waist before slowly unbuttoning her white pleated blouse. Minako watched with rapt attention as the last button was undone and it slid down her arms. The nude bra she wore underneath was nothing fancy - at least by her own standards - but then she had dressed for comfort today, not seduction. Still, she let it fall away slowly after unfastening it, and the hungry way Minako stared at her breasts when they were finally uncovered made it worth the minor effort.

Her navy trousers were next, and she bent deeply as she eased them slowly down her legs, letting her hair slide down her naked back to pool on the floor below. Her patience had its limits, though: her French-cut panties followed quickly after, and then she stepped out of the pile of clothing and nudged it away with her foot. For a moment she stood there proudly, letting Minako drink in her naked body, before striding over to the bed.

Setsuna settled onto the edge of the bed and spread her legs wide as Minako shuffled around on her knees. Her eyes widened as she saw Setsuna's sex on lewd display, and she lurched forward, but Setsuna stopped her with a single finger in the center of her forehead.

"You were doing so well, darling," Setsuna said with mock disapproval. "What do we say?"

Minako blinked. "I, um... oh!" She licked her lips nervously. "Can I… may I please lick your pussy?" Even as her whole face turned a burning scarlet, Minako kept her gaze locked with Setsuna's. "Please?"

Setsuna ran her hands slowly up her inner thighs, taking a few last seconds to tease her before replying,  
"Yes, you may."

Minako made a sound somewhere between a moan and a sigh of relief as she pushed her face between Setsuna's legs. Her lips and tongue seemed to be everywhere, licking and biting and sucking, making tiny noises of pleasure in the back of her throat. Every so often so she would pull away to take a few panting breaths before diving back in with abandon. For a while, Setsuna was content to let her indulge herself, but as her climax approached she grabbed a fistful of blonde hair to better guide Minako's mouth to where she needed it. She mauled her breasts with her free hand as Minako, sensing her need, attacked her clit ferociously. Finally, groaning through gritted teeth, she ground her sex against Minako's face as she came. Minako didn't miss a beat, working her lips and tongue feverishly wherever she could reach until Setsuna had to physically pull her head away.

She put one hand on the bed to steady herself and gazed down at her lover. Minako's face was red and wild looking, and saliva and Setsuna's juices shone from the bridge of her nose to the underside of her chin. She stared expectantly up at Setsuna, breathing heavily through her mouth and looking very proud of herself.

Setsuna released her grip on Minako's hair and instead raked her fingers through it, drawing a few stray strands from her face. "That was… exquisite," she sighed. She shuddered as a pleasant aftershock rolled down her body. The urge to pull that smiling face back between her legs was _very_ tempting. Minako would happily comply, she knew, but her knees were likely getting sore after kneeling on the hardware floor for so long. Pain could be a source of clarity and focus, but it could also be a needless distraction.

She rose from the bed and took a deep breath to try and clear her head. Mm mm mmmm. It had definitely been an… indefinite amount of time since she had indulged herself like this. Too long. She bent down and helped up Minako, who groaned softly as she stretched her legs and rolled her shoulders. Setsuna took a moment to quickly check her bindings. "Wiggle your fingers for me," she ordered, and Minako giggled as she complied. "Do they feel cold or tingly at all?"

"Nope, they feel fine," Minako said. She stretched back with her bound hands, trying to grasp at Setsuna with her wriggling fingers, and earned a swat on the rump for her trouble.

"Now, now," Setsuna admonished. "I was thinking about untying you while I gave you your reward, but since you can't seem to control your hands, I believe I'll leave them bound."

If her words discouraged Minako at all, you wouldn't know if from the way her eyes lit up. "Reward?" she asked with transparent nonchalance.

"That's right," Setsuna cooed into her ear. "Like I said, pleasure is a privilege you earn…" She bent down until they were nose-to-nose. "…and I'd say you've earned it." Minako's lips parted eagerly as she leaned closer, but Setsuna ignored them. Instead, she ever-so-gently touched the tip of her tongue to the side of Minako's jawline and dragged it slowly up, stopping to tease the corner of her mouth before sliding up the curve of her cheekbone. She could taste and smell her own essence on Minako's skin, just a hint of it.

Minako's eyes had a dreamy, unfocused look as she pulled away, and Setsuna decided that she had been sufficiently teased. "Up on the bed, please," she instructed. Minako didn't even wait for her to finish her sentence, leaping knees-first onto the bed with a whoop of excitement. The soft mattress obviously didn't provide the support she expected, however, and she teetered, trying futilely to find her balance without her arms before Setsuna put a steadying hand on her shoulder.

"Easy," Setsuna drawled softly. She had Minako bend her waist to lay her head gently against the duvet. "Knees together, legs straight," she coaxed. "And keep your back as arched as much as you comfortably can." Once she was positioned to Setsuna's taste, the last touch was to finally draw those lovely Carine Gilson panties down over her hips, to watch hungrily how they clung wetly to Minako's swollen sex as Minako sighed into the bedspread.

Setsuna ran her hands up the back of Minako's legs, loving how her muscles and tendons tensed and quivered in anticipation beneath her palms. She slid them up the pale, perfect globes of her ass, biting her lip. Her skin was cool, smooth and unmarred, and it filled Setsuna's head with wicked thoughts that she reluctantly put aside. For the time being, at least.

With both of her thumbs, she drew back the Minako's swollen lips until she was completely and breathtakingly exposed to Setsuna's hungry eyes. The bedding muffled Minako's cries as she leaned down and dragged her tongue from the hood of her clit, across her red, inflamed labia, to stab deeply with her tongue into Minako's innermost depths. Over and over, she repeated these long, luxurious strokes of her tongue, savouring every sensation: the feel of Minako's juices coating her lips and nose and chin, the sight of Minako's bound hands clawing at the empty air, the way she keened when Setsuna let her tongue dance against her clit for a few seconds.

She slid her hands up to cup Minako's waist and pulled her backwards, crushing her mound against Setsuna's mouth. She sucked roughly on her clit for a few seconds before sliding her tongue back up swirl around the mouth of her pussy. Back and forth she repeated this, until Minako began to hunch her hips back against Setsuna's face. She made a muffled 'Mmph!' of protest as Setsuna pulled her face away, but Setsuna only chuckled to herself in response before leaning down and pushing the tip of her tongue firmly against the tight, pink bud of Minako's asshole.

The response was immediate: Minako's whole body went shock-stiff, but a moment later she sagged back into Setsuna's arms with a low, throaty groan. Setsuna smiled to herself and brought her left hand down to worry at Minako's clit with her thumb, rolling and flicking it mercilessly in time with her tongue's teasing.

Minako made noises of animal pleasure as Setsuna's tongue and thumb worked in deliberate concert to wind her tighter and tighter. She held out an impressively long time, considering how aroused she had been to begin with, but soon she clenched her fists, arms straining against the scarf's silken hold, and began to pant wordlessly. All she needed was the last proverbial push. Setsuna lifted her right hand and held if there patiently until the last possible second before bringing her palm down onto the tender flesh of Minako's ass. It was a good slap, too, with a wicked _crack_ that Setsuna could feel in her eardrums.

Minako's shriek of surprise dissolved into wordless, gurgling moan of release, and Setsuna continued to work her clit in tight circles, trying to draw out every iota of pleasure for her. Finally, her cries died away and, with a final hoarse sigh, Minako slowly tipped over and collapsed onto the bed.

Setsuna shook the pins and needles from her hand and surveyed the results of her efforts. Minako lay in the fetal position, her arms still bound. Her face was flushed beet red, eyes unfocused and mouth open as her chest heaved. Setsuna felt a craftsman's pride at the vivid, angry handprint that seemed to glow against the white skin of her ass, and to her surprise and pleasure her lipstick mark was still largely intact on Minako's breast. Pretty as a picture. If only she had her camera.

Once she had enjoyed the tableau to her satisfaction, she knelt down and untied Minako's hands, throwing the scarf over her bedpost. Then, she scooped up Minako in her arms and placed her gently at the head of the bed, and then laid down beside her. She reached over and grabbed the far end of the duvet and pulled it over the two of them. Minako shifted until her head was resting on Setsuna's arm, and Setsuna stroked her hair slowly.

Setsuna was a firm believer in the importance of aftercare, so she let time slip by unheeded with Minako's head in the crook of her shoulder. Some immeasurable time later, Minako lifted her head and pushed herself up Setsuna's body until she could reach her lips. Her hand cupped Setsuna's face as they finally kissed, long and deep. Eventually, it was Minako who drew away, sighed happily, and then flopped onto her back.

"That," her voice broke the silence, "was not what I was expecting."

Setsuna smiled. "Oh, no?"

"I mean, if you asked me who the closet dominatrix in this house was, I would have said Michiru for _sure_."

"I suppose I could see that," Setsuna said, stifling a laugh.

"It's hard to imagine Haruka being tied to a bed and… and stuff, though."

"Mm." She had absolutely no trouble imagining that.

Minako turned her head to look her in the eye. "Seriously, though, that was nuts. I mean… I don't even know…" she gestured vaguely with her hands. "That was literally the most amazing orgasm I've ever had. I'd say let's do it again, but – and I can't believe I'm saying this – I am completely sexed out."

Setsuna felt herself flush slightly at the fervent praise. "I'm happy you enjoyed it. But, yes, let's not overdo things." She felt Minako run her hand down her side.

"You know what's crazy? Even with everything you were doing, all I could think about was how much I wanted to kiss and touch you."

"That's all part of the fun, darling," said Setsuna with a smile. "I find that wanting something can be even better than getting it, sometimes."

"Yeah…" Minako said thoughtfully. "I have to say, after that warning you gave me at the beginning, I was expecting you to bust out whips and chains and, you know, black leather stuff."

"And how did that make you feel?"

"Super turned on and also kind of terrified," she laughed. "I was pretty relieved that all you did was tie my hands together. Which was still really hot." She sighed. "I had no idea I would be so into this, you know? This morning has been very… educational." She raised her head and looked around the room. "I don't suppose you have any idea what time it is?"

Setsuna gave her a pointed glance. "It's thirteen minutes to noon."

Minako's head fell back and she sighed. "I should probably get home, I guess…. I told my mom I'd be home before lunch. And I should probably have _another_ shower…"

She made no move to get up, instead turning and drawing circles on Setsuna's chest with her finger. "Do you… do you think you might wanna, um, maybe show me more of this stuff?" she stammered, blushing furiously.

Setsuna rolled over until they were both on their sides and slipped both of her arms around Minako before kissing her gently on the forehead. "I would like that very much," she said softly. She put on her most dangerous smile. "We've barely even scratched the surface of what I can show you."

Minako grinned. "I like the sound of that." She rolled back onto her back and squinted upwards. "Hey, Setsuna?"

"Hmmmm?"

"What's that hook in your ceiling for?"

* * *

Setsuna sat in the window nook and gazed out into the blue summer sky, her book sitting open and unread in her lap. The barest hint of a breeze stirred the pages with its idle fingers. It wasn't much, but hopefully it would clear her bedroom of the miasma of sweat and sex that clung to it before Haruka and Hotaru returned home.

Her hair was still a little damp; in the humidity of a Tokyo summer it took hours to dry. Once she and Minako had said their goodbyes, she had rescheduled her dinner appointment and had a long bath. Today, she'd decided, was a day off. At least from her civilian life. For some duties she was always, as it were, on the clock.

She had already restored her room to its normal pristine condition, except for one object that stood jarringly out of place: a pair of white satin panties that hung from her bedpost, a brazen announcement of her morning's indulgence. Minako had slipped them there without her knowledge, the little minx, but it amused her for the moment to leave them on display. She was hardly the type to… take trophies, but she appreciated the thought behind the gesture, odd as it was. Still, she made a note to take them down before everyone got home. God forbid that Haruka should stumble on them before she had a chance to talk to her about things. Not that she was the jealous type, but she probably wouldn't look Setsuna in the eyes for days. She was so delightfully easy to fluster…

Movement caught her eye outside: a pair of figures had just passed through the gate and were meandering down the drive towards the house. She sighed and closed her book. Maybe one of these days she would actually finish it, but unless she was gravely mistaken, this wasn't a social call. There were going to be Serious Questions that she was going to have to politely avoid answering.

She trotted quickly downstairs to the foyer, stopping only to quickly pat her hair bun and straighten the collar of her blouse. Then she counted slowly to five, and opened the door.

With one hand frozen mid-knock, Usagi stood there with surprise in her big blue eyes. Behind her, almost hiding with one hand on Usagi's shoulder, was Rei. Both of them practically radiated nervousness.

Setsuna took one breath to focus herself and put on her most mysterious smile. "Come in, please," she said, motioning into the house. "I've... been expecting you."

* * *

Author's Notes

Hello, my beautiful friends!

I know what you're thinking, what happened to Michiru and Ami? Well, this chapter was originally conceived as sort of a side-story because I think Setsuna is great and I didn't want to leave her out of things. However, mid-way through writing Michiru's chapter, this kinda got stuck in my head, and I slammed it out in (by my standards) record speed. Plus, it makes sense timeline-wise to throw it in here. Think of it as a fun interlude to the fairly intense Michiru/Ami storyline.

Setsuna/Minako is one of those gotta-ship-everyone pairings I never really _got_ , but I definitely had some fun playing with it! Call me convinced.

The next chapter is already 9000 words deep, so hopefully it won't be toooo long until that's out. And as always, for the full, uncensored versions of _all_ chapters, head over to AO3 and look me up under the pseud **balambfish**.

Peace,

BF


	6. Milestone 5 - Stakeholder Update

**Project: Venus**

Milestone 5 - Stakeholder Update

* * *

Michiru stared at her reflection in the window. It stared back, its chin cupped in its fingers. With the morning sun high above the horizon she could just barely trace the contours of her face: the curve of her cheek, the delicate cupid's bow of her lip, a tiny glint of white where one earring caught the light. Distant and out of focus, the German countryside seemed to pour across her mirrored features in long, Renoir runnels of yellow and green and blue that swirled and danced, hinting at shape and substance for an instant before breaking apart.

Her reflection curled its lips into a wry smile. It was too apt a metaphor, perhaps, for the myriad anxieties that warred for her attention at the moment. She fought the sudden urge to glance over at her phone where it sat on the fold-out table next to her café au lait. It was a futile and frustrating urge - she had checked it every minute on the minute for the last two hours, and no doubt would again the next time her anxiety trumped her self-control, but even so a token effort-

"Miss?"

She started at the quiet voice behind her, and she turned quickly to find the coach attendant proffering her a breakfast menu. She accepted it with a polite smile, feeling vexed at her loss of composure, however brief it was. As she did, her eyes darted over to her phone again against her wishes.

No new messages.

Michiru made a show of looking over the menu. Food held little appeal at the moment, but she knew hunger would only tighter wind the strings of her anxiety in the long run. That, and she had another three hours on this train.

"I'll just have a croissant, please," she said, handing back the menu. "And a glass of champagne."

The attendant hesitated a split second, and Michiru felt her nostrils flare in irritation. Surely he wouldn't ask a first-class guest for identification. Granted, most Europeans couldn't seem to decide if she was thirteen or thirty, but still… surely not. She gave him a cool, questioning look that would have made her mother proud. He nodded smartly.

"Right away, miss."

She nodded absently as he took his leave and picked up her phone, the moment's frustration already forgotten. There were still no notifications, of course, but she checked her messages out of reflex. Minako's last message stared up at her, unchanged from the last twenty times she had read it.

 _hey I think todays the day call u in the afternon_

It was safe to assume that Minako had meant afternoon in Japan, since she seemed to be incapable of remembering the seven-hour time difference between them. That being said, it was almost 4:30 pm in Japan now and there had been no word from her dear co-conspirator. The urge to just call her was strong - and only getting stronger - but there was no telling what Minako was up to. Michiru wouldn't, couldn't risk disturbing whatever it was that girl was scheming. If there was even the slightest risk that it could further upset things between her and… well, the thought made her stomach churn.

When the attendant returned with her order, she mustered a tight smile for him. Once he was gone, she shook her head. Hopefully she hadn't been _too_ rude. Perhaps not. Her classmates were always telling her she was too polite.

She nibbled on the croissant and took a sip of her drink. Nice and dry, a little tart. Probably not actual Champagne per se, but this was a railcar after all, not the Fischers Fritz. She was going to miss this particular indulgence once she got home… how strange it would be to be 'underage' again. She smiled wistfully, imagining the expressions on Haruka and Hotaru's faces if she just popped a cork right there at the breakfast table, and took another delicate bite of her croissant. It was quite good, though if she wasn't careful she would be spending the rest of the train ride trying to pick buttery flakes out of the bodice of her dress.

Half of the pastry was all she could manage while her stomach was so squirrely, so eventually she nudged the plate away and drained the last of her champagne. Her traitorous eyes darted over to her phone again, and she made an exasperated noise at herself. She couldn't just sit here on tenterhooks for the next three hours staring at this damned phone, simmering in her own anxiety. Perhaps some music would distract her.

Her headphones had somehow tangled themselves with her keys in her purse, which was certainly no balm for her mood, but eventually she extricated them and slipped them on. She reclined her chair, hit play on her phone, and dropped it face down into her lap where it hopefully couldn't distract her.

Her eyes closed as the first sweet notes of Mendelssohn's _Violin Concerto in E Minor_ rose in her ears. This piece had been something of an obsession of hers throughout high school, and her hands twitched unconsciously as she performed the fingering in her head. So many late nights trying to master the infuriating, irrational rhythm of the cadenza, so many grumpy rides to school in the morning while Haruka teased her about the bags under her eyes…

Abruptly the gentle codetta broke into an ominous blare of brass undercut with frantic strings, and Michiru's eyes shot open. _Night on Bald Mountain_ … as if she wasn't already anxious enough. She stared at her phone and debated letting the call ring to voicemail. It was tempting, but life had taught her that it would only lead to more stress later. With a sigh, she accepted the call.

"Good morning, mother."

"Oh, good morning, dear!" Her mother's jolly tone set Michiru on edge immediately. "I almost thought I'd missed you. I hope I didn't catch you at a bad time?"

Michiru ignored the subtle barb. "Not at all. I'm on a train, and I didn't hear the phone ring right away."

"Oh, so you _are_ doing a little travelling during your vacation? That's wonderful, I'm sure the weather there is lovely right now."

Michiru glanced out the window at the hills and pastures rolling by under the morning sun. "Quite lovely, actually." She paused, waiting for her mother to take the next step of this pointless dance.

"So, where are you off to?"

It was an effort not to roll her eyes. "Southwest, to Cologne for a week or three,"

"Oh, that's right! Your aunt mentioned something about you staying with Noriko when we chatted on the weekend."

Slipping this past her mother had been at best an idle hope, but it grated nonetheless. "Actually, she and Lukas are already on St. Barts." Her mother already knew that, of course, but Michiru had been navigating her mother's conversational traps since elementary school. "I'll just be looking after the condo for them for a bit."

"Well, that sounds like a nice change of pace. I don't know _how_ you stand that tiny dorm room." There was a tiny, calculated pause. "Are you just staying by yourself, or will… Haruka be joining you there?"

Michiru gave the barest hint of a smile. Not that long ago, her mother wouldn't even have deigned to refer to Haruka by name. Victories were still victories, even the petty ones. Especially the petty ones. "No, I'm afraid not. I'm sure I told you that she was coming over at the end of September for the Belgium Grand Prix, and then we're coming back home together."

"Of course, dear, it must have slipped my mind. Well, I hope-"

"I won't be all alone, though," Michiru interrupted, seized by a sudden manic urge. "A… friend from school may be coming through, and I'm hoping that she might be able to stay with me for a while."

"That… sounds nice, dear." The note of confusion in her mother's voice sent a surge of childish satisfaction through her. "Well, I should let you go, I just wanted to check in. Have a lovely trip."

"I will. Give my love to Dad." With a beep, the call ended, and Michiru cradled the phone in her palm, grinning to herself. She almost never volunteered information about her personal life, and for good reason. Let her mother chew on that for a while.

It still surprised her sometimes that the two of them could have a civil conversation. They hadn't had a real, honest-to-god, knives-out fight in, what, a year? She tapped her chin. Yes, when she'd told her parents that she was going to complete her last year of education at a public school. For her entire adolescence, her interactions with her parents had tended to be either bitter silences or screaming rows. Somehow, in the last year, things had tamped down to a polite if cool détente that she and her mother were still trying to figure out how to navigate.

Of course, much of that had to do with her going to school in Berlin. By her mother's twisted logic, she suspected, spending a few months away from Haruka made it that more likely that she would finally give up on her _alternative_ _lifestyle_ and come running home to, as Haruka put it, 'start popping out little corporate babies for whatever salaryman her father raffled her off to'. She pictured Haruka saying it, arms crossed as if to hold in her temper, her normally puckish face stormy, and felt her chest grow tight. Only two more months until they were together again, she kept telling herself. Sometimes it even helped.

Before she really realized it, she was tapping on Haruka's cell in her contact list. She had a few seconds to agonize as the call connected – even if Minako _did_ choose this exact moment to call, it wasn't like she couldn't just call her back, but –

"Morning, beautiful."

As ever, Haruka's voice instantly filed down the sharpest spikes of her anxiety. Michiru closed her eyes and sank back into her chair. "Good morning to you, too."

"You're up early," Haruka teased.

"I had a train to catch, unfortunately," Michiru murmured. It _was_ early, by her summer vacation standards.

"Did you get any sleep?"

"Enough." Given the circumstances.

There was a pause on the other end of the line, but Haruka, bless her, didn't lecture her about her sleep schedule. Michiru pressed on before the silence became too heavy. "How about you? Did Minako… wear you out?"

"I wouldn't say that." Michiru could practically feel the heat of Haruka blushing through the phone, and she grinned. Gallant that she was, Haruka didn't kiss and tell – a fact that Michiru both appreciated and lamented. Minako would gleefully fill her in, of course, but it just wasn't the same. But, boundaries had to be respected for their little arrangement to work, and that was that, though a little tease here and there didn't count, surely. And, most importantly, Haruka seemed happy. That was just as satisfying.

"You had a nice time, though?"

"…yes," Haruka said with obvious reluctance. Michiru bit her lip. She hoped very much that Minako's… zeal wouldn't break Haruka of her shyness. Teasing her was such a joy.

"What are you two up to today?"

"Oh, Minako is off meeting the girls at the Crown. I'm out shopping with Hotaru before we go to Comiket. And by shopping, I mean sitting on a bench outside this Uniqlo."

"Aww, exiled already?"

"Mmhmm, another afternoon spent carrying bags and chauffeuring. She must get it from you."

Michiru smiled. "Undoubtedly."

"Oh, speak of the devil…" There was a rustling sound, and a perky voice came on the line.

"Good morning! How are you? Are you on the train?"

She couldn't help grinning at the barrage of questions. "Hi, Hotaru. Yes, I-"

"Is it fast? I heard those cross-country ones are – ugh, hold on." Hotaru's voice became muffled, but still audible. "Haruka, can you hold these, please? I'm going to drop your phone. No, they aren't! Don't be such a baby," she hissed. "Michiru? Sorry about that, Haruka insisted we go shopping today, but she's done nothing but grumble all afternoon."

"Oh, I quite understand, believe me," Michiru laughed. "That reminds me, did you get the clothes I sent over?"

"Yeah… but, umm, a lot of them don't exactly… fit," Hotaru said awkwardly. "Setsuna says I'm a size five now. I don't know what that is in Europe.

"A 32. Probably a 34, to be safe," Michiru said absently. Two sizes up since the spring. At this rate she would be lucky to recognize Hotaru when she got back. "The dresses should still fit you, I think. Have Setsuna send me your measurements, and I'll find you something nicer than you'll get at Uniqlo."

" _I_ wanted to go to 109, but Haruka says no expensive clothes until I stop growing."

"Nonsense," Michiru sniffed. "I'll send you some money if she is being stubborn."

" _And_ she said I can't wear any of the clothes you sent me in public. I-hey!" There was a scuffling sound.

"What I _said_ ," Haruka said testily as she got back on the line, "is that she shouldn't be running around in clothes that small if she refuses to wear a bra."

More scuffling. "Funny, you didn't say a word while Minako was traipsing around the house in nothing but a shirt this morning…" Hotaru grunted.

"Oh, reaaaaally?" Michiru said. In the background she could hear Haruka make a strangled noise and made a mental note to find out more later.

"Oh, _finally_ , there's a dressing room free! Gotta go, love you! Have a good trip!" Hotaru said in a single breathless stream.

"Love you, too." Michiru said, but the girl was already gone. She heard Haruka sigh. "Someone is sure energetic today."

"No kidding. She used to hate shopping," Haruka said.

"Yeah…" She let the silence hang for a moment as a wave of homesickness washed over her. Listening to the two of them bicker… God, how she wished she could be home.

Haruka picked up on her maudlin mood immediately, of course. "Hey, so, uh, heard anything from Minako today?"

Michiru took a deep breath. "No, nothing but the message I forwarded to you."

"Well… she's probably still out with the girls; don't stress out too much about it."

"Right!" Michiru perked up immediately. "I almost forgot, you said _they_ were meeting at the Crown? As in everyone? Even our two M.I.A. lovebirds?"

She heard Haruka chuckle. "Apparently."

"Why didn't you go, too? Don't you want to know what's going on?"

"I'll hear about it from Minako whether I want to know or not," Haruka laughed. "And, well, I have a feeling there was going to be some drama about it. So, noooo thanks."

"Drama? From who?"

"Minako. At least, that's where I'd put my money."

Michiru sat up. "Minako? That doesn't make sense."

"Well…" She could hear the hesitation in Haruka's voice. "I've been getting the impression that Rei and Usagi going radio silent while they played house for almost a week wasn't exactly a part of her master plan."

"What on earth was she expecting to happen?"

She could practically hear Haruka shrug over the phone. "I don't know, she's been very… tetchy every time I've brought it up."

"Haruka…" It was probably for the best that she couldn't see Michiru roll her eyes. "Try and find out, will you? If Minako is going to have a conniption when things don't go exactly as she expects I should _very_ much like to know in advance." Honestly, if she was the one sleeping with the girl, she would have dredged all of this out straight away. That's what pillow talk was _for!_

"Alright, alright."

"And say hi to everyone for me if you do end up seeing them."

"Will do."

"And make sure that Hotaru buys some new bras, too."

"I know."

"Okay, well… I'm going to go. I love you."

"Love you, too. Call me if you need to."

"I will." Michiru let her head fall back against the seat as the call ended.

* * *

Michiru came awake with a sharp drawing of breath. She winced away from the glare of morning sun and pushed her self up straight in her seat. Her shoulder and neck ached, and her cheek was cold where it had been pushed against the window glass. Her champagne flute and plate had been cleared away, and she frowned as she imagined the attendant tiptoeing around her while she slept.

She stretched, still feeling a little groggy, and allowed herself a most un-ladylike yawn. Beside her, the sun was much higher over the hills than before. Her breath caught in her throat.

"Oh, no no no..." She hissed to herself. Her hands scrabbled at the sides of her seat, trying vainly to find her phone. How could she have let herself fall asleep? What if she had slept through Minako's call? What if she had missed her chance...?

She found her phone on the cabin floor where it must have slipped from her lap, facedown and nearly invisible in the shadows. She cradled it in her hands, suddenly afraid to know what it held, a tight knot in her throat. Biting her lip, she turned on the screen.

11:45

No new messages.

Michiru sighed, feeling foolish. She was the lightest sleeper – there was no way she would have slept through her phone ringing in this empty, quiet cabin. Still, she had that itch between her shoulder blades, that sensation of _looming,_ that not-quite-a-premonition feeling that made the hair on the back of her neck stand up. She stared at the screen. Minako said she would call in the afternoon, but it was almost 7 back home... Could something have happened? Is that what she was feeling?

When the phone buzzed in her hand, she jumped in her seat with a squeak, sending the phone tumbling back to the floor. She had to get on her hands and knees to find it beneath the seat in front of her, swearing vigorously under her breath as she did so. With phone in hand, she stood up and brushed off the front of her dress, her mouth tight with irritation.

When she saw it was Minako who had messaged her, her mouth went dry. Her body was on autopilot as she sat back down, her heart hammering in her chest as she unlocked the screen. There were, in fact, two messages:

 _hey call ami in a few min_

 _no wait call in like 30 min so its not suspicious_ _(_ _)_

"What the hell is this?" Michiru's angry voice rose in the empty car. She stared at the messages. Minako had a frustrating tendency to ad lib, but this... they were supposed to talk! There was supposed to be a _plan_!

 _Call me now,_ she wrote back.

 _cant im supposed to be doing math lol. relax you got this_

 _Minako, PLEASE call me._ she tapped out.

 _'3'_ was all Minako sent back.

For a moment she just stood there, trying to breathe, her phone clutched white-knuckled in one hand. A dozen unpleasant responses flashed through her mind, but instead she just sagged back in her chair and put her face into her hands.

Just as quickly, she lifted her head back up. There would be time to give Minako a piece of her mind later, but for now the clock was ticking. Besides, she could hardly begrudge Minako for going a bit off-script – not when she herself was planning on doing some… deviation of her own.

The next half an hour passed with agonizing slowness. She had rehearsed what she was going to say innumerable times, from the very first day all those months ago when Minako had approached her with this unlikely plot of hers. That didn't stop her from practicing, of course; repetition begat mastery, after all. Relax and just be yourself, Minako had advised, but that wasn't Michiru's way. Every word, every intonation... it didn't have to be perfect. She knew that. But it would be, if she could make it.

After 22 minutes, she debated calling Haruka, just for that last-minute bit of reassurance, but instead she settled for a simple message.

 _Curtains in 8 minutes_

Haruka's response was exactly what she knew it would be, four words she could hear in her heart, spoken softly before countless concerts, recitals, battles:

 _eyes up, shoulders straight_

For the final three minutes, she held her phone unlocked in her hand, finger poised above Ami's name in her contacts, trying not to count seconds and failing. Soon it would be over, this agonizing four-month _intermezzo_ , and with it a second movement would begin, for good or ill.

This was it. Thirty minutes. House lights down, curtain up. She hit the call button.

One ring. Phone to her ear, staring unseeing into space, not daring to blink or breathe or swallow.

Two rings. A sharp sting where the nails of her free hand bit into her palm.

Three rings. The first sly tendril of doubt crept across her chest. Minako was wrong, this wasn't the time-

"Hello?"

The worst thing you could do during a performance, her first violin teacher once declared, was think. Music, she said, was the transmutation of feeling into action. And so, you practiced until your music could flow from your heart to your hands without your brain trying to get in the way. Perhaps all that rehearsing was how a bare handful of words managed to find their way out of her mouth while the rest of her mind ran riot trying to remember how to talk.

"Hello, Ami."

"Long time, no… hear." Michiru's thought processes froze, then began falling over themselves trying to analyse every syllable. Was there a hint of recrimination in that tiny pause?

"Almost four months," Michiru said. Ami had ignored Michiru's feeble attempts to apologize before she left. Was she angry that Michiru had taken so long to try and contact her again? Or was she upset that she was trying at all?

"I meant to call, but…" Ami trailed off.

"I know," finished Michiru. There had been nothing left to say, had there? She licked her lips and took a deep breath. "I would like to see you."

"Are you back in Tokyo?" Ami asked quickly. Eagerly?

God, if only. "No, darling, I'm still in Germany." She put a smile on her face and into her voice. "You would have to fly out here. I would take care of all the arrangements, and you could stay as long as you wanted. Think of it as… an early birthday present." Minako's idea, that last bit, to make the gesture easier for Ami to accept. There was silence on the other end, and it seemed to draw the words out of her. "I know this is quite sudden, but I have some time off from my program, and…" -she drew another shuddering breath- "…and I'm not happy with how things were when I left. Between us, I mean. I want to clear the air, and… I just want to see you. I miss seeing you." She snapped her mouth shut, cursing herself, afraid suddenly that she had said too much too quickly.

"I-I don't know if I can. I have exam school, and my Mom-"

"I know," Michiru cut her off before Ami could finish saying no. "You don't have to decide immediately. Take as much time as you need. The invitation is open. Just… don't make me wait too long, okay?" The desperation dripping from her words made her cringe; she prayed Ami couldn't hear it.

"Alright. I-I'll let you know as soon as I can."

"Wonderful. I'll talk to you soon, I hope."

"Right. G-goodbye." The call ended, and for a moment Michiru just stared at her phone feeling drained. Drained and… optimistic? Somehow? Ami hadn't hung up, hadn't rejected her immediately. Granted, she hadn't seemed overjoyed to hear from her, but she hardly needed Minako's sage advice to expect that reaction.

Well, Minako had her part to play, now. Ami's immediate instinct would be to play things safe and stay at home, according to Minako, but she had claimed - repeatedly and with great confidence - that she would be able to change Ami's mind. She had obviously never winkled any information out of Ami about the... momentary indiscretion in the change room. It was unfortunate that Michiru had had to hold back some of the facts, but she trusted in Minako's ability to improvise.

It was hard to believe, after all this waiting and agonizing, but her part was done. For the time being at least. It was an effort to restrain herself from messaging Minako immediately. Whatever methods Minako chose to employ, whatever rhetoric or guile, all that mattered now was Ami's final decision. And until then, there was much to be done.

* * *

Her cousin's condominium was larger than it had looked in the pictures she was sent, but then European homes almost always were. She stepped to the side, holding her suitcase in front of herself with both hands as the concierge shuffled through the door with her other two suitcases. She watched him idly as he carried them into the living room and set them down. One of them was practically empty – it was always best to travel light to a new destination, she found.

"Thank you so much for your help," she said as he strolled back to the door.

The young man gave her a wide smile that was much too friendly. "My pleasure. If you need any assistance, the front desk is manned at all hours."

"Of course, thank you again," Michiru replied, keeping the suitcase firmly between them.

For a brief, awkward moment he just stood there, looking expectantly at her before he finally nodded his head and excused himself. Michiru let out a sigh as the door closed. _Entirely_ too friendly - Haruka would have had words with him.

She set her suitcase down by the others – would it really have killed him to bring them to the bedroom? – and explored her pro tem home. Whoever they had hired to do the interior had done a wonderful job, but it wasn't quite… home-y. It wasn't as sterile as the condo she and Haruka had stayed in when they first came to Tokyo, but it lacked a certain warmth. It actually reminded her a lot of Setsuna's room: occupied, but not really lived-in. Of course, she reflected, that wasn't all bad. At least she didn't really feel like she was intruding on someone's home. It was less like staying with relatives, which she had always abhorred, and more like visiting the cabin in Okinawa in the summertime.

Her little tour ended at the main bathroom. Noriko hadn't been exaggerating about the bathtub; it was a work of art. Michiru was sorely tempted to give it a test drive even though it was barely past 1 PM. She hadn't had a proper bath since she left…

Her decision was abruptly made for her by the first few notes of _Eine Kleine Nachtmusik_ drifting down the hallway. Michiru dashed into the living room and scooped her phone off of the dining room table, ready to give Minako a piece of her mind.

"Hel-"

"You kissed Ami!" Minako's voice cut her off, beating her to the punch.

Michiru's words froze in her throat. She had figured even odds that Minako would find out about that… unfortunate incident, but she hadn't been able to divine what Minako's reaction would be. Apparently… not great.

"Don't even try and deny it, Ami told me everything," Minako said in response to her silence. There was a static hiss as she sighed into the phone. "We went over this like a dozen times, and it never, I don't know, occurred to you that that might be a relevant detail to share?"

"Yes… I did." Michiru's brain was a question behind, but rapidly picking up steam. "As for why I didn't tell you… well, if Ami _did_ tell you everything, then you know it didn't exactly end well. She obviously hadn't told you back when we started talking, and I decided to respect her privacy." That, at least, was the truth, if not precisely the whole truth.

"Well, that's great. How am I supposed to help you guys if no one tells me anything?" she demanded. "At least Ami came clean before I gave her the totally wrong advice about coming to see you."

Michiru bit her lip, fighting the urge to seize upon the end of that sentence, but she decided to let Minako have her rant.

"I mean, I not mad that you kissed her or anything. It actually made things a lot simpler in the end, but… look, there are a lot of moving parts here. And we had a _deal_."

"I'm sorry, if I had known that withholding that information might have made things harder for you…" Michiru trailed off. Whatever reluctance Ami had to talk about that day, Michiru had tenfold. It probably wouldn't have made a difference, but Minako didn't need to know that.

"Harder for me? What about Ami? What the _hell_ were you thinking back then? Kissing her with no warning, while _naked_ in a public change room? No wonder she lost it! I mean, don't get me wrong, it woulda worked on me… but I don't have Ami's hang-ups. Didn't you ever see her get a love letter in school?"

She hadn't, in fact. Ami had seemed blissfully unaware that she had a small, but _very_ dedicated coterie of admirers at school, both boys and girls, but Michiru had never seen any of them so much as sit next to her at lunch. They tended to be - much like Ami herself – sweet, quiet, and shy, and Michiru had assumed they were just too nervous to approach her. But, she was beginning to belatedly realize, maybe they had simply learned from the mistakes of those who came before them.

"In retrospect, I may have been too... assertive," Michiru admitted.

She grimaced as Minako's derisive snort sent another blast of static into her ears. "You think? I mean, I'll be the first person to cheerlead for being direct with your feelings, but I don't blame Ami for panicking after you backed her into a corner like that."

"It worked with Haruka," she said defensively. It had! After weeks on the road together, weeks of shy smiles and significant looks, she had finally gotten tired of the dance. She had pushed Haruka against the wall of the elevator in that little Sendai hotel, grabbed a handful of her hair, and kissed her. And that, more or less, had been that.

"I don't know if you've noticed, but Ami and Haruka don't have a lot in common," Minako said drily.

"More than you think, I daresay," she murmured. At least, so it had seemed. Right up until the moment she had broken that kiss, seen the shock and confusion on Ami's face, and suddenly realized how profoundly she had misjudged. Just remembering it made her chest ache.

"Maybe." She could hear the shrug in Minako's tone. "I mean… look. Haruka definitely responds better to action than to words, but Ami... Ami needs to decide things on her own terms, in her own time."

"I... see."

"But!" She continued cheerily. "The good news is that she has had _plenty_ of time to think things through, and I think she is gonna do it."

Michiru's heart leapt into her throat, and she struggled to keep her voice neutral. "Is-is that so?"

"I'm pretty sure, yeah. Like I said, it might have blown up in your face at the time, but you making the first move already saves me a lot of, uh, 'careful explanation', if you know what I mean."

"Yes, how fortunate," Michiru said with a frown.

Her annoyance didn't escape Minako. "Hey, no need to be snippy. Everything is turning out okay, right? Ami's happy, Haruka is happy-"

"...Rei and Usagi are happy."

There was a moment of pointed silence.

"Look, you worry about Ami and your part of the plan, and let me worry about everything else. This is important!" There was a bit of a snip in her tone, barely noticeable if Michiru hadn't been looking for it.

"Of course."

"Well... good. Ami will probably get back to you in a few days, so just relax until then. Let her come to you.

"That seems prudent, yes."

"Alright, well, uh, good night then."

"Good night, Minako."

After the call ended, Michiru sprawled out on a divan chair, one finger tapping pensively on her lips. It seemed Haruka was right about Minako's... what was her word? Tetchiness. Of course, Michiru didn't think Minako had a spiteful bone in her body. She would never _deliberately_ sabotage things between her and Ami. But if she started stomping around in a huff, could that affect Ami's decision to come? It was probably safest just to keep playing the helpful accomplice…

She closed her eyes. That little voice in her head hissed that Minako could think whatever she wanted after Ami was already here, that she would forgive Michiru in the long run. The needs of the mission above all else, at any cost. The old, familiar refrain, her mother's subtle poison, whispered into her ears her whole life. A poison that had arguably already killed her twice. Usagi had burnt out the worst of it, from her and Haruka both, but a dram of it would always be there, urging her to be ruthless. Cold. _Practical_.

Whatever might happen between her and Ami, she couldn't allow that poison to seep into it right from the start. With a loud sigh, she sat up, swung her legs over the edge of the divan, and began dialling Minako's number.

Minako picked up after the first ring. "Hey, what's up?"

Michiru didn't bother with preamble. "Minako, listen… I like Ami. I like her quite a lot, actually. It took me a long time to realize it, and a long time to come to terms with it, and an even longer time to work up the nerve to do anything about it. And then it all blew up in my face, like you said, and then you came along with this little scheme of yours and I… I lied to you. I used you. I respect what you are trying to do, I really do, or I would never have agreed to go along with it. But even if it makes me a selfish person, even if it hurts things between us, I can't pretend I don't want her!" The last few words came out a little fiercer than she'd intended, and she bit her tongue, bracing herself for Minako's response.

"You know," said Minako thoughtfully after a moment, "if you had said all that to Ami instead of just kissing her in a changing room, we probably wouldn't even be having this conversation. Although, I would maybe cut out the whole 'scheme' part."

"You… aren't upset?" Michiru said faintly.

Minako sighed. "Upset? No. I mean, if everyone in the world was honest with their feelings, how would I spend my summer, right? Besides, after Ami told me you kissed her, I pretty much figured out the rest on my own. I do appreciate you telling me yourself, though."

Michiru let herself fall back down into the chair. "I just… if things with Ami were to… progress… I didn't want you to think that I had deliberately deceived you or undermined your plan."

"'Progress'? Ugh, you and Ami are just going to be disgustingly good together," Minako chuckled. "Look, if there's I've learned today, it's this: as well as I think I know everyone, there are still gaps. Like, I knew that Ami had a bit of a crush on you, but I had no idea you felt the same way. You can be a little… hard to read."

"I know, I'm sorry. Trust me, it's not much easier from this side."

"No need to apologize, I know it's hard at first. But, trust me, it gets easier. In fact, I think that little speech of yours was great. Totally heading in the right direction. Obviously, we'll need to workshop it a bit, tighten up the middle." Minako began to talk faster as the excitement in her voice rose.

"Um…"

"Delivery was really good, maybe a little too aggressive. We can work on tone after we have the whole thing down, though. Hmm, maybe we can make it a little more flowery? Ami just _devours_ these awful romance novels. They are the worst, just the most unrealistic garbage, but I bet if you gave her a solid 'declaration of feelings' kinda speech she would just _die_ …"

"I'm not sure that's really my style," Michiru interjected quickly.

"I guess…" Minako's enthusiasm dimmed for a split second only. "Okay, new idea-"

"Minako," Michiru interrupted, her voice firmer. "Really, you don't need to do this."

"Pff, are you kidding me? This is the best part!" she exclaimed. "You wanted my support, well, you got it! You know what that means?"

Michiru smiled weakly. "No?"

"It means you'd better buckle up, cuz we have work to do!"

* * *

The Köln Bonn was small, maybe the smallest airport Michiru had ever been to, but it still bustled with weekend vacationers coming home on a Sunday evening. She sat well away from the main concourse, but not so far that she couldn't see the flight boards. Ami's connecting flight from Munich was right on time, as it been every time she checked it in the last half hour.

She had messaged Michiru when she landed in Munich – or, at least, she had messaged everyone, including Michiru. 'See you soon!' was all Michiru had been able to think of to write back, after long minutes of agonizing, trying not to come on too strong. If there had been a single, overriding theme to Minako's advice, it had been to let Ami come to her in her own time. It was… challenging. Passivity did not come easily to Michiru.

Her phone buzzed with another message from Minako. It may have been almost 3 AM back home, but she had volunteered – against Michiru's half-hearted protests – to stay up and keep her company while she waited in the airport. In fact, in the last four days she had probably spent more time talking to Minako than Haruka. It was very sweet, but more than a little overwhelming. Had Minako subjected Rei to this level of… enthusiasm? If so, Michiru didn't understand how she had held out against it for years.

She glanced up at the flight board for the hundredth time. Lufthansa Air 1980, still on-time, still arriving at 1942. T-minus five minutes. Almost show time. She sent a quick final message to Minako and tucked her phone into her purse. Her palms itched, and she fought the urge to wipe them on her skirt as she stood and made her way over to the arrival gates.

The minutes seemed to crawl by before they finally opened to discharge a flood of tired-looking people. Michiru stood on her toes as best she could in her heels, trying to catch a glimpse of blue hair in the sea of blond and brown. Her heart skipped a beat when she finally saw her.

"Ami!" she cried, waving her hand above the crowd. Ami started, then broke into a wide smile as she caught sight of Michiru and began to hurry over. She trotted up, dragging a monstrous suitcase behind her, and Michiru surged forward to meet her, heart racing. Both of them came to a stop a few feet apart from each other and, for a silent moment, stood there.

Ami's eyes were heavy with fatigue, but they danced with an excited light that matched the colour high in her cheeks. She shuffled the bag strung over her shoulder nervously and opened her mouth, only to close it again.

That was as much as Michiru could take, Minako's advice be damned. The bag slipped off Ami's shoulder as she stepped forward and pulled Ami towards her. A wave of relief slammed into her at the contact, a physical jolt, as if she had been holding her breath until this very moment. She could feel every second of the four months it had been since the last time she had held someone in her arms.

She spoke quietly, afraid her voice would crack. "It feels like a lifetime since I saw you last."

Ami drew back slightly. Her expression was drawn, almost pained. "I know… I'm sorry. I wanted to-"

Michiru cut her off by pressing a finger gently to her lips. Her eyes burned, and she prayed she wouldn't start crying. "You're here, now. What's done is done," she whispered. Swallowing hard, she mustered a smile. "Come, I'm sure you don't want to spend another minute in an airport." Without waiting for an answer, she picked Ami's bag off of the ground and slung it over her shoulder, stifling a grunt at the weight. She held out her hand and Ami took it, smiling shyly.

Riding home with Ami in the back of the town car was a refreshing experience. Haruka was perfectly capable of carrying on a conversation while driving, of course, but it was nice to have someone's full attention, even if all they really did was exchange pleasantries. While they did, she tried to get a read on Ami as furtively as possible. She seemed tired – and who wouldn't be – but she also seemed excited and nervous, while trying hard to conceal both. Perhaps Minako was right. She had been adamant that Ami blamed herself for how poorly things stood between the two them, which had just seemed… impossible to believe.

No. She didn't want to think about that right now. The important thing was that Ami didn't seem guarded or withdrawn; in fact, nerves aside, she didn't seem uncomfortable in the least. That alone was such a tremendous relief that it was almost enough to drown out Michiru's anxiety. Almost.

Once they arrived at the condo, it was fun to lead Ami around and see her eyes go wide at the size of the bed in the guest bedroom, or the massive, fully-equipped kitchen. Truth be told, it had been something of a shock for Michiru herself after four months of sharing a tiny dorm room, with its twin beds and its communal bathroom. Even though she had been wringing her hands waiting for Ami, the novelty of sleeping on a big bed with no dorm mate clomping around at all hours was one she took every opportunity to enjoy.

Once her little tour was over, she left Ami in the guest room and went to grab her bags from the entranceway. She found Ami standing at the window when she returned, staring out over the river as the breeze ran gossamer fingers through her hair.

"You know, there's a superstition here that if you leave windows open while you sleep, you'll get sick," she said as she carefully sat Ami's carry-on next to the dresser. It was shockingly heavy – chock-full of books, no doubt. Ami spun at her words, clutching the front of her blouse, but said nothing.

"Kidney disease in particular, of all things. And not just windows – fans, air conditioning... my dorm mate and I have been fighting about it all summer." Michiru walked up to beside her at the window and leaned out, resting her elbows on the frame. She smiled as Ami turned back to join her. "I won't tell anyone if you won't."

For a tense moment Ami stared into her eyes, but finally her shoulders sagged a little, and she only said, "I think I should probably go to bed."

"Of course," Michiru said instantly, swallowing a sharp sting of disappointment. "I'll be up for a while, so let me know if you need absolutely anything." It was hard, but she made herself walk casually out of the bedroom, leaving Ami behind to settle in.

She strode into the kitchen and pulled a Perrier from the fridge. Pressing the cold bottle to her forehead, she leaned against the counter and sighed. How easily she slipped back into the rhythm they had once had, the secret smiles and coy words. She just had to keep telling herself that if Ami didn't respond the same way she once had, it wasn't necessarily a rejection. Nothing was going to happen today; over and over she had reminded herself that, with Minako drilling it into her besides. The poor girl had barely been able to keep her eyes open on the ride home, after all, and it would probably be a few days before she really shook off her jet-lag.

No, it wouldn't kill her to give Ami some time and space to adjust and get comfortable. It just meant her anxiety would continue raking its claws over her brain for a while longer. Not ideal, but… she could handle it.

Her self-control lasted for a solid five minutes before she decided to check in on Ami. The guest room door was ajar, so she nudged it open gently and there was Ami, curled into a ball on the bed with a pillow clutched in her arms. Michiru couldn't help tiptoeing into the room. Ami had pushed her face deep into the pillow, but she was clearly asleep despite so much of the bed being taken up by her suitcase.

Michiru licked her lips. If this were a TV drama, she would sneak over and gently cover her with a blanket. Or maybe climb up and carefully curl next to her on the bed. The idea definitely held a powerful, if irrational, appeal. Their hug in the airport had stirred something deep and hungry inside her, and standing next to Ami's sweet, sleeping form was not conductive to wise decision making.

She tossed her head and took a deep breath, trying to clear her mind. The last thing she needed was for Ami to wake up and find her hovering over the bed, leering down at her like this. With a final, lingering glance, she withdrew, closing the door carefully behind her. The second the latch clicked home she let out a sigh and leaned back against the door. This was going to be… challenging.

That evening passed at a crawl as she exhausted the condo's meagre distractions. She made herself an espresso and flicked through channels on the television, but there was nothing on but the news and she quickly lost interest. She could have a bath… but the bathroom was right next to the guest room, and she didn't want to risk waking Ami. She had already bought everything for breakfast tomorrow, and picked out her outfit, _and_ put together a few likely sightseeing options. Nothing left to do there. Besides, nothing would be open this late on a Sunday night.

It would be hours before anyone was awake back home, even the earliest of the early-risers, and even then the odds weren't good that one of them would be willing to while away their morning for her benefit. Haruka had a strict morning routine, and besides, Michiru didn't want to trouble her with any more Ami-related fretting. Rei was usually up for an early-morning chat, but last time she had tried she had instead received a cross (but _adorable_ ) lecture from Usagi about the reasonable hours at which one should make phone calls. Even Minako was usually up early, at least during the summer, but she had stayed up all night with Michiru already. She even briefly considered calling Setsuna, but talking to her on the phone always reminded her of talking to her grandmother. The terse and stilted conversation wouldn't be worth the momentary diversion.

No, what she sorely wished she could do was paint. Her fingers itched to hold a brush. But, painting was a messy business no matter how careful you were, and the last thing she wanted was to have to clean a thousand speckles of paint off of the condo's immaculate walnut floors. She wouldn't even know where to begin. That really only left one thing she could do.

It took her a good hour to restring her violin. She had to tune by ear, a task made difficult by the living room's strange acoustics. She'd been meaning to switch to low-tension strings since she arrived, just to be polite. Maybe she couldn't paint, but she still needed to escape from her own head at night sometimes, and there was no need to inflict her insomnia on the neighbors.

Her anxiety melted away the second she put bow to string with intent; her brain knew when it was time to stop messing around. She had a mission this summer – well, a second mission – and its name was Paganini's _Caprice 24_. It had a well-deserved reputation as one of the hardest solo pieces, and it had been her personal _bête noire_ for years. This summer she had declared war on it to distract herself from Ami-related worries, determined to master its intricacies through sheer brute force.

Hopefully it would work just as well when Ami was sleeping less than twenty meters away.

Her standard practice routine was to play the whole piece start to finish twenty times before drilling down to the troublesome measures, but she could barely make it through a dozen before the triceps of her bow arm began to seize. With a sigh, she set her instrument gingerly down onto the coffee table and went to dig a bag of peas out of the freezer.

The lower tension definitely quieted the voice of her violin, she reflected as she pressed the makeshift icepack to her aching arm, but it made spiccato bowing much more laborious. On the other hand, it made left-hand _pizzicato_ much easier on her fingertips – no blisters tonight, with luck. Of course, that could become a crutch if she weren't careful…

According to the LED display on the stereo, it was nearly midnight. Back home, Haruka would probably be in the shower after her morning run. The temptation to call her was strong, very strong, but she held back. Haruka had been far more supportive through this whole messy business than Michiru had expected. Or, frankly, deserved. The least Michiru could do was not burden her by fishing for sympathy, especially not now, in the eleventh hour, with Ami asleep in the other room.

Maybe _she_ should try and get some sleep. Tomorrow promised to be a long day, one way or the other. She packed her violin back into its case, but left in on the table before wandering down the hall to the bathroom. She eyed the guestroom door for a moment as she passed. If Ami were awake, she probably would have come out. No need to peek in on her.

She stripped down to her panties once she reached the master bedroom and then, after a moment's consideration, shucked them off as well before pulling on a baggy, white shift. It had been one of Haruka's t-shirts once upon a time, but years of loving use had left it stretched into shapelessness, not to mention almost indecently sheer. The perfect pajamas for a summer night.

After washing up in the en suite, she flopped down onto the giant, fluffed-up _federbett_ , enjoying the way she sank down into it. She had to remember to buy one of these for home before she left. Grabbing a handful of fabric, she rolled over, cocooning herself in downy softness, and closed her eyes.

Sleep came quickly, but it was fitful and uneasy. She tossed and turned, drifting in and out of an anxiety dream. An auditorium of faceless shadows whispered to themselves as she stood on stage, paralyzed, trying frantically to remember the piece she was supposed to play. When she finally remembered a few bars, her fingering was slow and clumsy, and the whispering grew louder.

She awoke feeling flat, too numb to even be relieved, her jaw aching from clenching her teeth. She rolled onto her back and stared up at the ceiling, debating whether to try to fall asleep again. Through the thin curtains she could tell it was still well before dawn, but she was wide awake. Awake, but tired.

With reluctance, Michiru rolled herself out of bed. She glanced at the bottle of melatonin on the vanity, but she passed it by as she padded quietly to the living room. She could take something to make herself fall asleep, but she didn't like to depend on drugs that way. The clock on the stove read a quarter past three, but she paid it no mind as she dragged a bar stool chair out of the kitchen and parked it in front of the patio doors.

The modest summer breeze coming off the river was all the inspiration she needed. She tied her hair back in a messy ponytail to get it out of her eyes and carefully removed her violin from its case. Without preamble, she launched into the first measure of Mendelssohn's _A Midsummer Night's Dream_.

How time and worry fell away while she was playing. There was only the wind caressing her bare legs, the strings beneath her fingers, and the orchestra accompanying her in her head. It wasn't perfect. Between the small room and the open door, it sounded like she was playing in the mouth of a cave. Even so, she played the whole piece end-to-end twice, once as first chair, and once as second.

When she opened her eyes, the white sliver of the moon was just visible below the balcony roof, washing the room in the palest of light. She smiled wistfully, closed her eyes, and began playing a new piece. Nothing fancy or technical, but she poured all of her listlessness into it, all of her homesickness, all her foolish longing for the girl who slumbered down the hall. When it was done, she turned to see Ami standing at the mouth of the room, as if summoned there by her music.

She looked just adorable, standing there with her blue hair wild and unbrushed, wearing a simple white sleeping gown with ruffles at the wrists and collar. Both hands were clutched to her chest, and her face was turned up slightly, as if she were basking in the sound of Michiru's violin. Her eyes fluttered open as she realized that the piece was over, and she gave the tiniest start as she saw Michiru was looking at her.

Michiru struggled to find her voice. "I hope I didn't wake you," she said softly, lowering her violin.

Ami shook her head hurriedly. "No, no, I was just going to the washroom and I heard..." Her hands dropped from her chest to stand stiffly at her sides. "It was lovely."

"Thank you," she replied. Could Ami see how her heart leapt at that simple praise, how her cheeks heated? "Normally, if I can't sleep, I paint, but I didn't bring my oils with me. That was one of my favorite pieces, the-"

"The solo from _Scheherezade_ ," Ami blurted. "The second movement."

Michiru broke into an excited smile. "Yes, that's right! It was one of the first pieces I felt I truly mastered. I find it very... calming." Not that one would know it from the way her heart pounded in her chest, of course. She placed her violin to one side, laying the bow carefully next to it, and stood up.

"I recognized it from your album..." Ami's voice trailed off as Michiru stepped towards her. Her eyes darted down to Michiru's bare legs, and she bit the corner of her lip, just for a moment.

"Did you now?" Michiru said absently. "I hope I did it justice, then. This room doesn't have great acoustics, and without a harp to accompany me, I find the tone is much... lonelier."

Ami swallowed, and Michiru took a step forward, until a frantic thought brought her to a halt. What on Earth was she _doing_? Standing here practically naked, advancing on Ami like a starving predator? _Again_? After everything she had put both of them through last time?

Michiru crossed her arms, as if physically restraining herself. "I suppose I should try and sleep again if I'm going to be your tour guide tomorrow," she said, trying to keep her voice light. "I tend to sleep late, so if I'm still in bed when you get up, feel free to wake me." She didn't wait for Ami's reply, but slipped past her into the hallway. Their shoulders brushed despite her best efforts, and a sudden rush of longing and self-loathing made her pick up the pace. It took a monstrous effort to say goodnight over her shoulder in what she hoped was a normal voice, and an equal effort to close the bedroom door quietly behind her.

Her body sagged back against the door, and she listened as Ami washed up and returned to her room. When she heard the bedroom door click closed, she let herself slide down until she sat on the floor, clutching her knees to her chest. Everything she had worked so hard for, all the planning and worrying and second-guessing, tossed aside in a single moment. 'Oh, I wish I had a harp to accompany me!' Could she have _been_ more crass and obvious? Or sounded more desperate?

Getting to her feet seemed to take all the energy she had. She didn't even bother to put the lid back on the melatonin bottle; she just popped three in her mouth and left it on the nightstand. Then, she burrowed her face into her pillows and let herself be swallowed by a bleak and dreamless sleep.

* * *

Michiru clapped her hand to her head as the wind picked up, almost spilling her cappuccino in the process. She gritted her teeth as the wind tore at her hat fruitlessly for a few seconds before dying back down. Gingerly, she lifted her hand, ready to clamp back down at the slightest breeze. Across the table from her, Ami's lips curled into the barest hint of a smile. Her eyes were invisible behind the dark lenses of her new Versace sunglasses, but Michiru imagined them crinkling in amusement as well.

"I think the wind almost had it again," Ami said nonchalantly, before taking a sip of her own drink.

Michiru opened her mouth to respond, but the wind picked up again, harder this time. The awning above their table fluttered madly, and Ami's hand darted out to catch the empty parfait glass that sat between them before it was carried off the table.

"Perhaps we should move away from the river after we're done," she suggested after the gust had blown itself out. The hat had seemed like such a cute idea, too. But, she was certainly not going to chase it down another boulevard if it blew off again. The wind could _keep_ the damned hat.

Ami smiled widely. "That might be a good idea. Can I borrow your phone for a moment? There were a number of places I researched that seemed very interesting. Unless there was something you wanted to see?"

Michiru passed over her phone and took another sip of her cappuccino as she listened. Ami had an exhaustive inventory of museums, churches, and parks that she wanted to see, and Michiru had an equally long list of shops she wanted to peruse. So far, Ami had been very patient – some might say indulgent – as Michiru played dress-up with her. Truth be told, Michiru was far more interested in spending time with Ami than in seeing the sights of Cologne, but it was hard not to pick up some of Ami's enthusiasm.

Ami didn't wait for her to answer; she was already scanning the phone. "There's the Museum Ludwig, you might that, apparently they have an extensive Picasso collection... oh, but it closes in an hour, that doesn't seem like enough time." Her lips turned down in a cute pout as her finger flicked over the screen. "A lot of places are already closed..." She looked up at Michiru apologetically. "I'm sorry, I had no idea we'd end up spending so much time at the chocolate museum."

Michiru had to grin. "I honestly didn't think so, either." She glanced down at her own phone. Almost 5 PM. "Most of the stores are closed soon, too." The wind picked up, just the faintest breeze, and her hand shot to her hat.

"Alright, that's our cue, I think," Ami laughed as she passed back the phone. "We can figure it out while we walk."

She reached down to her side, but Michiru was faster. She slapped a twenty-Euro bill on the table, pinning it under her coffee cup. Ami gave her a look that was not-quite indignant, but Michiru was having none of it. "My treat," she stated simply. For a moment, Ami seemed ready to argue, but Michiru gave her a look that brooked no objections. They had already discussed this _several_ times today, after all.

With a sigh, Ami moved her hand away from her purse. "Thank you. Again."

Michiru smiled sweetly. "You're very welcome." She stood up and gathered both of their bags. Ami wrung her hands at the sight, and Michiru sighed inwardly before handing Ami her own bags. It wasn't as if they had that much, honestly. The stores they'd been to today were more than happy to forward their packages to the condo, so all there was to carry were a few bags of souvenirs from the museum. Much like Haruka, Ami just seemed to have an aversion to being pampered, no matter how trivially. Well, she had broken down Haruka's resistance eventually, and she would do the same with Ami if she had to.

They walked west through the narrow streets, the sun just peeking above the roofs of the shops and offices. Ami continued to poke at her phone, her bags hanging awkwardly from her elbow. Michiru was content to walk beside her in silence for a moment. Hopefully they would be able to dig up something; surely somewhere must still be open, even on a Monday. It was too early for dinner, especially after they had shared that parfait. Maybe they could just keep... strolling around?

Truth be told, part of her was dreading going back to the condo. Outside of its confines, the tension between the two of them had evaporated. Granted, breakfast had gone _very_ well in her estimation, but she had spent the whole morning agonizing over it before Ami had finally gotten up, and she couldn't keep up that level of manic focus up for a whole day.

Neither of them had brought up their strange encounter the night before, which was fine by her. Minako and Haruka had both agreed that she'd done the right thing by letting the moment pass – being able to talk to them both at the same time was just _amazingly_ convenient, no matter that she could practically feel Haruka blushing over the phone – after all, there was nothing particularly romantic about jetlag. Both of them also agreed that she needed to relax and stop overthinking everything, because that was just _so_ simple. Why didn't she think of that?

What she wouldn't give right now for Haruka's easygoing charm or Minako's reckless self-assurance, she thought as she watched Ami on her phone. Ami noticed her gaze, and she lowered her phone with a sigh.

"Not a lot of options this late, I'm afraid. There are a few parks around, if you don't mind the walk. Sorry."

"No, that sounds lovely," Michiru assured her. "Besides, we have plenty of time to see everything else while you're here."

Ami smiled shyly at her words. "Well, at least we got the chocolate museum out of the way early, I guess."

Michiru nodded. "Maybe Usagi will stop messaging us about it now."

"I was hoping to surprise her, but maybe you're right," Ami laughed. She hesitated, just for a moment. "Do you... keep in touch much with everyone back home?"

"Both too much and not enough," Michiru said. "Sometimes it feels like I live my entire life over the phone. I talk to Haruka every day, and Hotaru when I can, of course. And Rei, too, although not much recently. For obvious reasons."

Ami blinked in surprise. "Rei? Really?"

"We have a great deal in common," Michiru said, a trifle defensively. Why did this always comes as such a surprise to people? "Private school upbringing, less than stellar parental relationships, vague visions of the future..." A predilection for blondes. "I actually wish we could spend more time together, but unfortunately she and Haruka don't always... get along."

Ami nodded slowly. "Watching Haruka flirt with Usagi all the time must have been very frustrating for her."

"I'm sure." Once Michiru had found out about Rei's feelings, she had put a stop to that immediately. Not that Haruka had taken much convincing. Even so, the damage was long since done. "Well, at least she has nothing to be jealous about now."

"No, I suppose she doesn't," Ami said with a big smile.

Michiru eyed her sideways. This conversation was wandering into dangerous territory, but she couldn't help herself. "How is everyone handling them... being together?"

"Well," Ami began, cocking her head slightly. "Both of them certainly seem happy, which is all that matters as far as I'm concerned. I didn't get to see them much before I left, just a quick goodbye the day before, but Usagi was happier than I've seen her in a long time, and Rei was just... I don't know how to put it. It was like I'd never actually seen happy before." She sighed happily. "It makes me a little sad that I won't be able to see them for the rest of the summer."

"I'm sure Minako will keep us apprised if no one else does," Michiru said lightly.

Ami laughed. "Yes, yes she will. She actually seemed to know what was going on before they told us, though she wouldn't tell me how." Her eyes darted over to Michiru for a split second, and Michiru felt a needle of guilt bring red to her cheeks. "Makoto and I seemed to be the last to be told... or, at least the last to find out. It was definitely a surprise, though. Poor Makoto is still a little in shock, I think, or at least she was when I left."

"I don't blame her. It's a big change to take in all at once."

"It really is. I mean, Rei and Usagi, Minako and Haruka, and now..." Her words cut off abruptly, and Michiru could see her ears begin to turn pink as she stared dead ahead.

Michiru licked her lips and tried to lighten the mood. "Well, I hope somebody remembered to tell Luna! The last thing they need is for her to walk in on them in the wrong moment."

"Could you imagine?" Ami's laugh was scandalized, but she gave Michiru a grateful smile. "God, _none_ of us would ever hear the end of it."

The park Ami led them to was all but empty this late in the afternoon, and they found a choice spot beneath a gnarled and ancient oak whose branches hung so low that the setting sun could barely penetrate them. The air was cool and dry beneath its boughs - and still, thank goodness. Ami removed her sunglasses and hung them from the neck of her lovely yellow dress as she sat, smoothing the hem demurely over her knees as she did.

Michiru joined her on the ground and they sat there, shoulder to shoulder, and chattered about nice, safe things: school, clothes, tidbits of news from back home. According to Haruka, she had a bottomless supply of small-talk. As if Michiru hadn't once watched her talk to a smitten girl at a makeup counter about the weather for nearly fifteen minutes. It wasn't always important what you said, as long as you said _something_. So said her mother, at least – a woman who hated many things, but abhorred a conversational vacuum most of all. It was a lesson Michiru struggled with unlearning as she got older, but it was occasionally useful.

She didn't realize how late it was until the park's lights started to flare to life. They had a late supper at a restaurant that Michiru had chosen with great care – cozy, but not too intimate, upscale, but not sumptuous. The food and the conversation were both light, but Michiru found herself dragging the night out with dessert, and then coffee. Part of her still dreaded going back to the condo, but part of her just didn't want the day to end.

It had struck her, as she watched Ami scrutinize her menu, that in a very real way, this was a date. A first date. Her _first_ first date. Yes, Haruka and she had been on dates, but they had never _dated,_ in the traditional sense. They had lived together and fought together for almost a year and a half, and once things had quieted down their 'courtship' had consisted entirely of Michiru dragging her by the collar to their hotel room. Figuratively. Mostly figuratively.

Ami had glanced up from her menu and given Michiru a shy smile that made her heart beat a little faster. Her early days with Haruka had been exhilarating but, she recognized in hindsight, also kind of relentlessly awful. Their mission had cast a long shadow over the quieter moments. Who had time for quiet bistros and stolen glances when the fate of the world hung in the balance? Or, so they had both convinced themselves. She knew better, now.

Of course, that still left the question of how to actually end this date, if that's what it was. Walk Ami back to the guest bedroom, say she had a lovely time, and give her a peck on the cheek? That was innocent enough. She looked over at Ami, but her eyes were raised to the night sky as they strolled leisurely down the street. No, she had promised herself that Ami would have to make the first move. She had just one move in her repertoire, and being honest and direct hadn't given her stellar results last time.

 _Surely a kiss would come as less of shock after a lovely day like this..._

Grimacing, Michiru clamped down hard on that line of speculation.

Inevitably, despite Michiru's dawdling at shop windows and Ami's frequent, momentary stops to sightsee, they arrived back at the condo only a little after 10. The night concierge looked relieved to see them, and she quickly understood why as he began to carry bag after bag from his little office. Ami insisted on taking as many of hers as she could carry, leaving Michiru no choice but to do the same as the concierge followed behind with the remainder.

She bid him goodnight at the door in German, and he wished her the same with a broad smile that was at least partially born out of her remembering to tip him this time. She stepped gingerly into the condo, anxiety already starting to boil in the pit of her stomach. Ami had already collapsed into the chaise longue when Michiru shut the door, shopping bags encircling her like a fairy ring. She watched as Ami stretched her arms over head and arched her back for a long second before falling back to the chaise with a contented sigh.

"I could go for some tea," said Michiru, her mouth suddenly dry. Ami turned towards her at the sound of her voice, arms still crossed over her head, and something in the cock of her head or the curve of her lips brought that night in the changing room rushing, _rushing_ back, and Michiru knew she had to get out this room now, right now, or... or something was going to happen.

"But, before that, I think I might draw a bath. Do you mind?" Her voice was tight, and she was already walking towards the hall when Ami said... whatever she said in reply. The bathroom door clicked shut behind her, and the breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding left her in a rush. What would have been worse, she wondered, having a full blown panic attack, or just sauntering over to Ami and straddling her. She'd been a hair's breadth from doing one or the other, though she couldn't have said which.

With her head against the door, she could hear gentle footfalls coming down the hall. Her heart leapt into her throat, but the footsteps continued past the door, and a moment later she heard the gentle squeak of springs from the guest bed.

She shook her head, embarrassed at her own cowardice, and reached back to unbutton her dress. She was committed to taking a bath, now; maybe it would at least help her calm down. Her dress was tossed unceremoniously into the laundry bin, followed quickly by her bra and panties. She took one step towards the shower door, but something made her hesitate. Michiru agonized for a moment, but finally she opened the bathroom door a crack, just a few centimeters.

She knew it was silly, but she never closed the door while she was taking a bath, not since she and Haruka had finally become a real couple. Before that, well... this wasn't her first time trying to hide from her feelings in a bathroom.

The shower seemed to wash some of the static out of her mind, and for a few minutes she just sat under it, trying not to think about anything. It... kind of worked, but eventually she just found herself reaching for her shampoo. Her shower routine was tight, born of years using public pools, but she spent a little extra time on her tender feet - it had been a long day, after all. And once she had finished brushing the knots out of her hair, she even indulged herself by changing the showerhead to its massage setting and running it over her head for a few minutes.

Inevitably, the pulsing jets turned her mind to... other forms of stress relief. She licked her lips as she let the water play against the palm of her hand until it became too ticklish to bear. It _had_ been a long day, hadn't it? It had been a few days, too, with all the excitement... and it wouldn't take long, not while she was wound up as tight as an E string.

Her body needed no convincing – a throbbing ache was already swelling between her legs. Ami was right next door, but she could be quiet-

A knock on the door broke her trance so suddenly that she barely swallowed a scream. The showerhead slipped from her fingers and began to twist frantically, painting wet lines across the walls and ceiling.

"Yes?" She answered with all the composure she could gather while she snatched the shower hose and wrangled the head back under control.

Ami's voice was muted by the shower's rumble, but Michiru could still hear the nervousness in it. "I thought… that is, I was wondering if you wanted to have a bath. T-together, I mean."

Michiru took a shaky breath. Her hand held the shower handle in a white-knuckled grip. A tiny part of her whispered that this seemed like a bad idea, but it was lost in the shower's din and the blood pounding in Michiru's ears. "Of course, darling, that sounds wonderful," she managed to say. "There should be extra towels and cloths there for you. Just throw your dress in the bin there, we have laundry coming tomorrow."

It must have been her imagination, but Michiru could have sworn she heard the soft rasp of cotton as Ami's dress slithered off her body. Her mouth moved on its own, babbling about the bath tub and hot springs and God knew what else. And then the door was sliding open, and Ami stood there, red as a tomato but still meeting Michiru's eyes. The towel she clutched protectively in front of herself accentuated the lines of her body in a way that simple nudity never could have, and Michiru made a noise in the back of her throat, an animal grunt that she prayed was swallowed by the water.

Ami turned to hang her towel on a the wall, and Michiru devoured her with her eyes – the muscles of her legs, the pale curve of her buttocks, her perfect dimples of Venus, all in an second's time. Somehow, her face was even redder when she turned back around, and Michiru discovered she had been wrong about Ami's naked body. For half an instant she stared up at the pale undersides of Ami's breasts before she leapt to her feet.

"Have a seat," she said, keeping herself deliberately out of arm's reach. Ami murmured something she didn't catch and sat down, and Michiru knelt behind her. Her eyes met Ami's in the mirror. "Would you like me wash your hair?" she asked.

"A-Alright," was the meek reply.

Later, she would swear that it had been an innocent suggestion, but the moment Michiru sank her fingers into those thick, blue curls, she knew there was no going back. There was no shower to mask the sounds Ami made as her hands worked, half-groans, half-sighs, and no mistaking the shiver that ran through her when Michiru whispered some sweet trifle into her ear. Ami had come to the bathroom on her own, hadn't she? That had to count, didn't it? It didn't matter. Michiru couldn't pretend anymore.

Ami surprised her, though. Michiru's hands slid along her neck and shoulders, and she was deciding where she wanted to put her lips first, when Ami looked up and caught her gaze in the mirror. "I..." She began, and then paused as emotions warred across her face. Then, she took a deep breath. "I don't want to come between you and Haruka."

Michiru couldn't help the delighted chuckle that escaped her. She leaned forward and pressed her lips to the back of Ami's head. "Good."

In an instant, her lust-addled plans to ravish Ami here on the bathroom floor evaporated, replaced by something much more intimate. She stood up and walked over to the waiting bath. The water was breathtakingly hot, and she sighed as she lowered herself into it. She looked over to see Ami still clutching the showerhead in both hands, her beautiful blue eyes massive and unblinking.

Slowly, Ami stood up and hung the showerhead back on the wall and shut it off. When she turned back around, Michiru expected to see hesitation in her face, but instead her mouth was fixed in a determined, almost stubborn line. Her eyes didn't quite meet Michiru's; instead, they seemed to fix on a point somewhere between them as Ami stepped towards her.

Michiru watched hungrily as she lifted one leg into the bath and then the other. Hidden beneath Ami's unassuming (and, frankly, at times unflattering) taste in clothes was a swimmer's body. And now those legs were dizzyingly close, so sleek and toned and oh God water was still dripping down her thighs... she raked her eyes up Ami's body until they locked eyes. Her own desire seemed to be reflected in Ami's face, and before she quite knew what was happening Ami sank to one knee and leaned forward.

She stopped short, staring into Michiru's eyes, and Michiru wanted so badly to throw her arms around her and pull them together, so badly that she almost shook with the effort of restraining herself. For a terrible moment it seemed like Ami was just going hover above her, tormenting her, inches away but out of reach. And then Ami's lips touched hers, so gently, too gently, and then they were gone.

Her brain had barely begun drawing up an objection before Ami's mouth was on hers again - fiercer now, and sweeter - and when she felt the first tentative brush of Ami's tongue against her lips she made a noise of joyful surprise. When her tongue made a second cautious sally, Michiru's met her head on, darting and teasing. Ami moaned into her mouth, and that was enough to tear away the last shreds of Michiru's self-restraint. Her hands buried themselves roughly back into Ami's hair, pulling them tighter together. The bath seemed to dissolve into a haze around Michiru as she let go of her own doubts. Her tongue was in Ami's mouth, and her hands danced over Ami's back and flank as Ami's body slid against her.

It was Ami that finally broke away, blowing hard. Michiru gave her the moment to catch her breath and burrowed her face into the crook of her neck while her fingers grazed the top of Ami's leg beneath the water. Her scent was complex: vanilla from the shampoo mingled with bergamot from the bath salts and just a hint of something that caused an animal stirring inside.

"You're a quick study," she crooned softly. "But, that's hardly a surprise, I suppose." Add 'kissing' to the long list of skills that Ami seemed to pick up effortlessly.

"I… tried to do my homework," Ami replied, stuttering slightly as Michiru brushed her lips against her throat.

Michiru pulled back, a guilty, stinging little streak of jealously shooting across her chest. "Oh?"

Ami's voice fluttered as Michiru's fingers drew up her legs. "It's important to have… a strong… a strong… a strong theoretical foundation!"

Her words seemed to crystallize the impatience and lust in Michiru's heart. Ami squealed in surprise as she was scooped into Michiru's arms and sat down squarely into her lap, legs splayed wide. Her head fell back against Michiru's shoulder, her ear tantalizingly close to Michiru's lips. Michiru sighed happily as she wrapped her arms around Ami's torso and pulled them both tight together. Ami's body slotted perfectly against hers, she was thrilled to find. This position never quite worked with Haruka in her lap – she just ended up with a face full of shoulder blade – so she always ended up being the little spoon.

"Are you ready to move from theory to practice?" she murmured into Ami's ear.

Ami writhed against her. "I-I want to touch you, too," she protested.

Michiru closed her eyes, savoring a sudden swelling ache of her own need. "You will," she promised to them both.

She started slow, or at least she tried to. Ami squirmed torturously against her, gasping as Michiru's tongue found her neck or ear. Her hands had a life of their own, sliding along Ami's torso and down her legs, trying to find the tempo of her body. Michiru let them wander where they would, trusting her own instincts. Music and painting had to come from the heart, after all, and what was making love but art in another form?

She knew every inch of Haruka's body – part of her felt guilty for making the comparison, but it was impossible not to – and there was something thrilling about how different Ami's was. Ami was a swimmer, but she wasn't an athlete, not the way Haruka was. Haruka was long and lean and hard, and Ami was none of those things in Michiru's arms. One of her hands rose to cup Ami's breast. It was soft and heavy in her palm, larger than her own. Hard was good, but soft was good, too, she decided.

Her teeth sank gently into Ami's earlobe, and she nibbled it thoughtfully. Her left hand came up to cup Ami's other breast, and her fingers sank into their plush flesh as she pulled Ami tight. Ami sighed and seemed to melt back against her, and Michiru had to raise her knees a little to keep her from sliding off of her lap. She closed her eyes and kissed down Ami's neck, revelling in the sheer amount of skin contact between them. Yes, she like soft juuust fine.

She opened her eyes again and peered down over Ami's shoulder to watch her fingers toy with one pink nipple until it stood proudly to attention from her chest. Ami began to squirm against her again, and every urgent little sound she made Michiru squeeze her thighs together. She began to tease Ami's other nipple, a little rougher as her lust began to urge her on. In reply, one of Ami's hands flashed up from beneath the water and seized a healthy handful of Michiru's hair, crushing her lips against Ami's ear.

Michiru froze for a moment, shocked and thrilled at Ami's forcefulness. Her instinct was, as always, to tease and tantalize, but deep down she shared Ami's impatience. "Touch yourself, if you want," she breathed into Ami's ear before her tongue slithered in after her words.

Ami shuddered, but her head shook ever so slightly. "I want... you to!" she hissed. Her voice was almost petulant, and Michiru couldn't help chuckling into her ear. Maybe the time for teasing had passed. Her left hand reluctantly ceased its fondling and slid soundlessly beneath the water's glassy surface. There was no teasing now; Ami's entire body jerked as Michiru cradled her mound in her palm. Ami's sex parted eagerly for her fingers, slick and hot, and her hips leapt forward and her head fell back into the crook of Michiru's neck with a cry as her fingers reached their destination.

She kneaded Ami's clit firmly with two fingers and listened carefully to the sounds Ami made, trying to gauge her pleasure. It was a little like tuning her violin, she reflected, although she didn't need perfect pitch to decode Ami's sighs and moans. Unfortunately, her repertoire was limited here in the water – friction was not your friend when it came to fooling around in the bath, she knew all too well – but she supposed Ami wouldn't recognize the difference. At least, for the moment. Would Ami take to lovemaking the same way she seemed to take to everything she tried? The thought was both thrilling and intimidating.

For now, though, she was happy to play the role of the experienced older girl. She turned her head to Ami's ear. "Ami..." she purred. "Do you know anything about playing the violin?"

Ami's head lolled to the side in what she took to be a no. "No? Then, for your first lesson, this is something we call _vibrato_..." Her fingers danced against Ami's clit in tight, semiquaver pulses as she nuzzled against Ami's neck. It wasn't long until Ami's fingers laced themselves into her hair once again and her breaths became short and hoarse, and Michiru knew she was close.

"That's a half-semitone," Michiru said conversationally. "Now, for something a little more dramatic, we can try a full semitone..." The rhythm of her fingers changed, becoming more insistent. Ami's hips began to undulate against her as she worried at her nipple with her free hand, and her moans became high and urgent. Michiru ran her tongue in lazy curls along the side of Ami's neck until the hand in her hair closed painfully. Ami's whole body seemed to tense, and her breath came in harsh, staccato gasps as she trembled on the knife-edge of her orgasm. In response, Michiru nudged Ami's head roughly to the side and sucked hard on the delicate white skin of her neck.

The result was exactly as she had hoped. Ami all but screamed into her ear as she came, her body shuddering and twisting in Michiru's arms. Michiru actually had to release Ami's nipple and wrap her free arm around Ami's waist to keep her from bucking right out of her lap. She did her best to match her fingers' tempo to Ami's, dropping from semiquavers to quavers to quarter-notes as she made her best effort to draw the coda of Ami's climax out as long as possible.

Finally, Ami sagged back against her with a last happy groan. For long minutes, Michiru held her, watching her chest rise and fall, stroking her stomach softly with her fingertips and feeling more than a little satisfied at her performance. Four months was a long time, but as one of her instructors liked to say, your hands will always remember the fingering, even if your brain doesn't.

She was just beginning to wonder if Ami had fallen asleep when her voice made her start. "Now I understand why Rei and Usagi have barely left her house in ten days."

Michiru couldn't help but laugh.

* * *

The bathroom door clicked shut behind her, and Michiru leaned back against it, heart racing.

"Holy shit," she mouthed to the dark and empty hallway. She pushed away from the door, laughing to herself happily. This was absolutely not the time to stand around gaping like a fool. She had told Ami to taking her time drying, but if she was anywhere as eager as Michiru herself was, she would be done in record time.

She took three steps towards the master bedroom and hesitated. The room was nicer, of course, and certainly better appointed, but she had mixed feelings about continuing to seduce Ami in her cousin's bed. Or letting Ami continue to seduce her, as the case may very well be. She bit her lip as a silly grin crossed her face.

Michiru clapped her hands to her cheeks. Focus! If she would feel uncomfortable, Ami undoubtedly would as well. She strode across the hall to the guestroom and stopped short, nostrils flaring in irritation. It was her own fault, she reflected as she levered Ami's monstrous suitcase off the bed. If she had planned this all out properly, she wouldn't have to be staging the room in the absolute last minute like this. With the luggage tucked away behind the bed, she opened the casement windows and, after some consideration, pulled over the thin white curtains. They billowed nicely in the breeze off of the Rhine, and she gave a satisfied nod.

The room itself, well... it was what it was. She knew she should be grateful - her first time with Haruka, after all, had been on a futon on the floor of a midscale Sendai hotel room that had probably been smaller than this bedroom in its entirety – but all of this furniture looked like it was straight off of an Ikea showroom floor. It was hardly the perfumed boudoir of her fantasies, where Ami came upon her draped sensuously across satin sheets like a Falero nude. She sighed.

In the end she just turned out all of the lights. After all, she rationalized, she and Ami had seen each other naked dozens of times at the pool. This way, they could... focus on their other senses? Fortunately, enough light still came in from the street to see by, and for a moment Michiru just paced in front of the bed, trying frantically to think of anything she might have missed. God, how she hated improvising.

When nothing came to mind, she gave herself a final pat-down with her terrycloth robe and then, in a moment of inspiration, dropped it carefully in the doorway so Ami would know which room to go to. Then she perched herself on the bed, making certain she was framed in the light of the window behind her, and there she waited, trying to remember to breathe. It was an effort to unclench her fingers from the mattress, to straighten her shoulders so she wasn't hunched over like a gargoyle.

Her heart leapt into her throat when she heard that tell-tale click from the hall. Her performer's instincts took over: her back straightened and her head rose, tilting her chin up slightly. She crossed her ankles and placed her hands carefully in her lap. When Ami stepped slowly, cautiously into the doorway, Michiru froze mid-breath. When she spotted Michiru, Ami froze too, and for a long moment they both just stared at each other.

Ami began to unwind the towel from her body, her midnight eyes never leaving Michiru's. She let it slither to the floor atop Michiru's robe and stepped forward, as pale and quiet as a ghost. Michiru kept herself poised, but her heart hammered harder with every step Ami took towards her.

She had expected Ami to be hesitant or shy, and perhaps that wasn't fair, but Michiru was taken completely by surprise when she closed the distance to the bed in a few short seconds. Ami's mouth was on hers before her brain could recalibrate, cutting her startled squeak short. Her arms slid around Michiru's waist as she gently pushed them both back onto the bed.

Ami climbed onto the bed after her until her knees straddled her own, and Michiru's body arched beneath her, trying desperately to drink what remained of the bath's torrid heat from her flesh. Her own desire, damped down to coals during her nervous staging of the room, flared back to furious life. Her own arms clutched frantically to Ami's back as they kissed. The difference was stark – your senses tended to run together when you made love in the bath, but here and now the feel of Ami's back beneath her fingers was almost excruciatingly vivid. And she needed more. So much more.

At that moment, unfortunately, she felt her hips start to slide off the bed. She broke their kiss, gasping, hands clawing at the sheets to stop herself. Ami beamed down at her, her chest heaving, laughter dancing in her eyes.

"I guess we should get on the bed properly," Michiru said. She reached up to brush a stray lock from Ami's face, and Ami nuzzled her cheek into her hand.

"You're probably right." Ami nimbly hopped to the side, allowing Michiru to scoot back up the bed. She turned herself on the bed and then fell back into the pillows with a happy sigh. Ami wasted no time joining her, but this time Michiru wrapped her arms around her and pulled Ami gently down atop her. Ami's eyes widened in wonder as their bodies finally made full contact. "Oh, wow..." she breathed, almost too quiet to hear.

Michiru concurred wholeheartedly. She wriggled unconsciously, trying to maximize their skin-to-skin contact. They stayed like that for a few moments: just holding each other, looking into each other's eyes and luxuriating in that sensation.

"I'm so glad you're here." The words slipped from Michiru's lips before she could catch them, and she felt her cheeks burn scarlet. Ami went rigid in her arms, staring down at her with an expression she couldn't quite parse in the room's gossamer light, before suddenly burrowing her face into the crook of Michiru's shoulder. Her arms pulled Michiru close, and Michiru's did the same, and for a while they just clutched each other for dear life until Michiru heard her sniffle and realized that Ami was crying.

"Hey, hey now," she whispered urgently. She turned gently, pulling Ami over next to her on the bed. Steel bands seemed to tighten around her chest. She'd done it again, pushed things too far, too fast, but now this time there was nowhere for Ami to escape to, and she'd _ruined_ things, ruined them _again_ , what had she been _thinking_?

She tried to pull away, but Ami held her fast; if anything, she hugged Michiru tighter. She raised her head. A wet trail glistened on her cheek, but the look she gave Michiru was more fearful than upset. "Please, don't go," she entreated. She scrubbed at her tear-streaked cheek with the heel of her palm and made a vexed noise. "I'm not... I'm okay, really." Her eyes turned down. "I just... when you said that..." Ami trailed off, then suddenly flopped over onto her back, covered her eyes with her hands, and let out a very un-Ami-like growl of frustration.

Michiru blinked, her spiral of self-recrimination forgotten for the moment. She took a deep breath. "It's okay, this has obviously moved a little too fast-"

"No!" Ami's hands flew from her face. She looked angry, although at herself or at Michiru, she couldn't tell. She wasn't sure which would be worse. "I want to be here! I want to be with you, doing... this." Her eyes darted over to meet Michiru's for a split-second before skittering away. "I just... every time I look at you, it's like my insides just scrunch up."

"In... a good way, or a bad way?"

Ami gave a sharp laugh. "Both? I don't know?" Her arm came up to rest on her forehead. "And now I'm ruining things all over again."

Michiru's eyebrows rose in disbelief. "You aren't!" she said fiercely.

Ami pressed on, ignoring her objection. "I thought... if I just jumped into things head-first, I wouldn't have time to worry about everything, and then it would all turn out okay, somehow. But, here I am, practically in hysterics again." She laughed bitterly. "At least there's nowhere for me to run and hide this time."

Michiru frowned, Minako's words flashing through her mind. "Ami, you can't blame yourself for what happened then." Only minutes ago, they had promised to put that behind them, but it looked like she was already going to break that promise. "I... I misread things between us. Badly. I put you in an extremely uncomfortable position. You don't have to apologize for wanting to get away from there."

Ami sniffed. "You make it sound like you forced yourself on me. It was barely a peck on the lips, but I acted like a panicked animal."

"I've never seen anyone get dressed so fast," Michiru conceded. She was happy to see the corner of Ami's mouth twitch up ever so slightly. "I suppose it's fortunate that I didn't give you a love letter."

Ami turned her head and regarded Michiru with a blank expression. "Minako," she said flatly.

Michiru ventured a shy smile. "Yes. Sorry."

"It wasn't like that," Ami said slowly, staring up at the ceiling. "I used to have trouble believing that anyone would be interested in me, and I never really noticed when someone _was_ interested, so the rare occasion that I received a love letter, it was always a total shock." She paused, and then turned to face Michiru. "But, umm, when you flirted with me, I noticed. In-in the pool. And I liked it."

Michiru laughed softly. "Really? I was always paranoid that I was being too subtle. Or too obvious. I... don't have a lot of experience flirting, to be honest."

Ami rolled herself onto her side to face Michiru. "But... you used to flirt with boys at school all the time."

"I did no such thing," she said, blushing faintly. You said two friendly words to a boy, and suddenly they thought you were interested. Fortunately, Haruka thought it was great fun to chase them off.

"What about with Haruka?"

Michiru snorted. "Haruka flirts more than enough for two, you may have noticed. Besides, back then we spent practically every minute of every day together, and it was all about the mission, all the time. We didn't really have the time or energy to flirt. At least, that's what I told myself."

"How did you end up getting together, then, if you don't mind me asking?"

"I, uhh..." Michiru felt blood rush to her cheeks, and swallowed. "After everything with the Death Busters was all over, I got impatient and kissed her in an elevator with no warning."

Ami stared at her for a moment and then started to giggle. Michiru couldn't help but start as well, until they both broke into full-on laughter. When that petered out, Ami rolled back onto her back and stretched. Michiru was happy to see the smile linger on her face.

"I have a theory," Ami said.

"Oh?"

"What if we are both just _really_ bad at this?"

Michiru couldn't help laughing again. "I can't argue with that." She reached over and, after a moment's hesitation, covered Ami's hand with her own. Ami smiled for a second, but then her face turned somber.

"I'm sorry I never returned your calls," she said. "I was so mortified about how I handled myself, I just... I couldn't face you."

Michiru squeezed her hand. "You don't have to apologize. If I hadn't waited until right before I was about to go abroad, maybe we would have been able to sort things out. Properly." God, what an absolute misery those last three weeks had been. She had drifted through the house like an angry spirit, barely sleeping, while Haruka went above and beyond trying to console her. But, if the pained look on Ami's face was any indication, she had gone through just as much strife.

"Can we... can we try this again?" Ami asked suddenly.

"I think I would like that very much." Ami squeezed her hand now, and Michiru felt her pulse begin to pick up. And then, because she couldn't help herself, she said, "Are you sure this is what you want?"

Ami was silent for a moment, but she continued to stroke the top of Michiru's hand with her thumb in a way that was strangely soothing. "I don't know what it is I want, exactly," she said finally. "I suppose that's what I'm here to find out."

Those words made Michiru's chest ache wonderfully, but she pressed on. "Things could get messy. Really messy. Haruka and I… this is all new to us. We don't really know what we're doing. We could get hurt. You could get hurt." Her voice broke slightly on the last sentence. "And whatever happens between us… I love Haruka. That will never change."

Ami lifted her hand and brushed her fingers along Michiru's cheek. "I don't think I could forgive myself if it did."

"But-" She stopped as Ami touched fingertips to her lips.

"It's going to take more than that to scare me off, Michiru," she said. "Someone told me recently that I deliberately do things the hard way. Maybe I do. Maybe that's just how I'm wired."

Michiru mustered a smile. "That makes two of us, perhaps."

"Yeah…"

"It's not always hard, though."

"No?"

"Some might say the next part is the easiest thing in the world…" She leaned forward and touched her lips to Ami's.

When she pulled away, Ami arched an amused eyebrow. "Straight to kissing again? I admire your persistence."

"I'll have you know it has a solid fifty-percent success rate," Michiru declared.

"I think your experimental methodology might have some crucial flaws," Ami replied. Michiru went rigid as Ami's hand brushed down her ribs. Her touch may have been tentative, but when their lips met again, Ami didn't hold back. Her tongue darted out to tease Michiru's in quick feints that grew bolder and bolder. One of them pulled the other close – Michiru wasn't sure who, but with one hand on the nape of Ami's neck and the other roaming south across her hip, she found she didn't particularly care.

* * *

Author's Notes

Howdy!

I know, I know, all that build up, where all the smut at? My friends, I am surprised as you are. Sometimes stories lead you in directions you aren't expecting, even when you're the one writing 'em.

This chapter was the hardest to write by far, if only because there just is so much I want to write about these two. Project: Venus started out conceptually as a loose framework to drape around a series of light-hearted, smutty oneshots with a focus on character exploration. The whole idea was one chapter per character, and if nothing else I plan to stick to that. But, I could easily have written a whole series just about Ami and Michiru, it turns out (and who knows, maybe I will). That's right, this 17000-word beast is me exercising _restraint_.

If you're still with me by this point, thanks for the patience and the support! The next chapter is Makoto, who is feeling more than a little left out back home. Stay tuned!

Peace,

BF


	7. Milestone 6 - Quality Deliverables

**Project: Venus**

Milestone 6 – Quality Deliverables

* * *

"Ohhhh, that wookf amaaaving!"

Makoto pulled her eyes from her phone. On the TV, a young woman was oohing and aahing over an elaborate fruit parfait as it was placed in front of her by a man in a tall chef's hat.

"I think the last one looked better," Rei said in a disinterested voice. "This one has too much stuff on it."

"Umm, how can more ftuff be bad?" Usagi slurred. She was sprawled across the length of the couch with her head in Rei's lap. Or, more accurately, with her face squashed against Rei's thigh. "Mako, back me upf here."

Rei's eyes rose to meet Makoto's and she arched one questioning eyebrow. Her fingers toyed idly with a few loose strands of Usagi's hair, tucking them carefully behind her ear before brushing softly down her cheek. Makoto looked back to the TV screen. "Hmm, I don't know, I might be with Rei on this one," she considered. "A ladyfinger _and_ a macaron _and_ a gooseberry garnish seems a little over the top. I've never seen yuzu in a parfait, though, that's interesting."

"Well, I'd ftill eat it."

"Of _course_ you would," Rei retorted.

"Hmph."

It was so _weird_. Rei and Usagi's bickering was one of those constants in life, but it was different now. No snap. No heat. Its absence was louder, in a way. Usagi did turn over and stick her tongue out, but all Rei did in response was tap her on the nose with her finger and they both broke into silly grins. Rei laced the fingers of her free hand with Usagi's as the two of them stared into each other's eyes. _So_ weird!

Makoto's phone mercifully broke the spell, letting out a musical chirp as she received a message. The two of them blinked, and their eyes darted over to Makoto as if just remembering she existed. Makoto just smiled back at them and, muttering a prayer of thanks under her breath, read the message.

It was a picture from Ami: Michiru posed for the camera with coffee cup in hand, a bustling train station in the background. Red, pink, and white begonias dotted her cream-coloured strappy dress, and she was shading her eyes with her free hand, despite wearing the largest pair of sunglasses Makoto had ever seen. She looked like she had just stepped off the cover of a fashion magazine. As always.

Another message arrived as she glowered at the screen and Makoto tensed, but it was not a picture this time, thankfully.

 _The train just arrived, so I guess we are off! I'll message everyone once we arrive in Paris. Give everyone my love._

 _Will do, be safe,_ Makoto wrote back. She turned off the phone and stared at it for a moment before setting it carefully on the armrest, then stood up. As she did, Minako looked up at her from where she sat on the floor in front of the couch. Makoto ignored the question on her face and stepped carefully over her legs, walked down the hall and slid the bathroom door closed behind her.

Her reflection scowled back at her in the tiny mirror. She plucked at the hem of the old, stretched-out tank top she had never gotten around to changing out of after this morning's workout. Normally its baggy fit appealed to her – running in regular sportswear brought her attention she'd rather not have – but right now it just seemed extra plain and frumpy.

She ran the sink for a moment and splashed some water onto her face. Then, she took her hair out of its ponytail and shook it out before giving it a quick comb-through with her fingers. She pulled one lock of chestnut hair straight and inspected it. Her hair was getting a little long; she was probably overdue for a proper trim. Maybe she could convince Minako to look at it over the weekend. Once she had tied it back a little neater, Makoto felt a teensy bit better.

The show was just ending when she emerged from the washroom. Minako was on her feet, stretching. A leg that she assumed belonged to Usagi was draped over the top of her couch. The foot attached to that leg pointed its pearl-pink painted toes in her direction as she approached.

"Mako, I have a very important question," came Usagi's voice from behind the couch.

Makoto couldn't help smiling. "And what might that be?" she asked, as if she didn't know.

Usagi's foot bobbed in time to her words. "Can. We. Make. Parfaits?"

Makoto chewed on her lip. A parfait would be really nice on a hot day like this, but summer fruit prices were always crazy. Even with _Ochugen_ over and done with, enough berries or citrus for the four of them would be a hefty bite out of her food budget for the week.

"Sorry, I don't have parfait glasses. Or any of the ingredients, really."

"Oh." The leg flopped down in disappointment, and Makoto stifled a laugh.

"Tell you what, I have a recipe for lemon chiffon cake that would probably work with yuzu instead, how does that sound?" Yuzu were out of season, but at least they'd only need one. Plus, she could use the leftover juice to make ponzu sauce.

The leg disappeared as Usagi sat up straight with a whoop. "Yes! I can do the shopping! I don't want to brag, but I'm something of a grocery expert now."

"I'll come with you," Minako said quickly. Usagi's head whipped around, and Minako managed a stiff-looking smile. For an awkward moment, no one said a thing.

It was Usagi who broke the silence. "Okay," she said happily, "Let's do thiiiiis!" She scrambled to her feet and seized Minako's hand.

"Um, do you need anything else?" Minako asked as she was dragged past Makoto.

Makoto ran through her mental recipe book. "Uhhh, half a dozen eggs? And maybe like a quarter-litre of light cream?"

"Just message Usagi a shopping list." Rei stepped up beside Makoto. "Trust me."

Makoto expected some kind of retort from Usagi, but instead she twirled around and bounded back from the front door, her hair streaming behind her like a gymnast's ribbon, and threw herself into Rei's arms. "I'll be back in a flash. Don't go anywhere," she said warmly before kissing her hard on the mouth. Makoto was too surprised to turn away, but only a few seconds passed before Usagi pulled back. "Love you!" she said brightly before dashing back to the entryway and grabbing Mina's hand again.

"I... love you, too," Rei said, a little breathlessly, and then they were both gone. Rei kept her gaze on the door as it closed, hands clasped in front of her chest and a big, silly grin on her face. Makoto turned away and walked over to the kitchen. Rei followed behind her.

"So..." she said hesitantly.

"So?"

"So, umm, is this weird? I feel like this is super weird. For you guys, I mean."

"No, of course not." The lie was an embarrassingly effortless reflex, out of Makoto's mouth before she could stop it. She reached up to grab a bag of sugar from the cupboard, frowning to herself. "Well, okay, it's a little weird. Not even _weird_ , exactly. It's just... new. Really new."

"And weird."

"And a little weird," Makoto admitted. She gave Rei a quick, worried glance, but her face was still plastered with that goofy smile. "Not _bad_ weird, just, I dunno..." She took a deep breath. "I'm sorry. I know that this was all somehow the most obvious thing in the world to everyone, but it's new to me. I'm just tryin' to wrap my head around the idea of you two... together. I'll get used it. Don't worry about me."

Rei sighed. "Makoto, I'm sorry you found out like that, but... I didn't tell _anyone_. Ever. Ever, ever. God, for years I was terrified that Usagi would somehow find out if I even _thought_ about it around her."

"Anyone except Minako."

Rei snorted. "Minako figured out I was in love with Usagi before I had even admitted it to myself. At least, that's what she claimed whenever she was forcing her advice down my throat. Trust me, Minako is the last person I would have trusted to keep something like this a secret. Not with the way she blabs about her own love life to anyone who'll listen." Rei leaned back against the counter, arms crossed. "Okay, I guess that's not exactly fair... She never said a word to Usagi. And... I will grudgingly admit that she was right about pretty much everything, in the end. She pushed and pushed and now..."

Makoto answered with silence as she pulled a mixing bowl out from under the counter. How similar was the advice Minako had given Rei and her? It wasn't like their situations weren't _that_ similar. Were they? "Well, don't let her hear you say that," she finally said. "She'll never let you forget it."

"No kidding." Rei sighed. "I think I might owe her for this one, though. I might owe her anything she wants."

"Yeah, maybe," Makoto said noncommittally. The ingredients and dishes for the cake were laid out neatly on the counter now. Nothing to do but wait and hope those two managed to get the right groceries. "Want something to drink? There's cold barley tea. Just made it yesterday."

"That sounds great, thanks."

Makoto poured for both of them at her little kitchen table. Rei held her glass in her hand, smiling dreamily as she stared towards the door. It didn't take a genius to guess what she was thinking about. "You... seem different," Makoto said haltingly.

"Hmm?" Rei blinked and turned back to face her.

"You're happy." She didn't know how else to put it. "I mean, you didn't exactly seem sad before, but..."

"I held everything in." Rei took a measured sip of her tea and then looked Makoto in the eyes. "Sometimes, being with Usagi made me sad. I had to hide it so she never asked why. And sometimes being with her made me so happy, and I had to hide that, too. I didn't even let myself imagine being with her. I told myself I was just being a good friend. Good friends would never burden each other with their feelings. Even if they're killing her."

Makoto caught herself nodding and tried to hide it behind a long swig of her tea. "And now?"

"It seems like a bad dream." Rei shook her head. "I know Usagi better than anyone, and yet... I let my fear convince me that she would hate me if she found out how I really felt. Who I really was. Even after everything we've been through together."

"And now?" asked Makoto, a lump rising in her throat.

"And now it's like I can't even remember how to be afraid. I love her. I _love_ her, Mako. And, somehow, she loves me back." She grinned again as she said the words, and Makoto could see joy dancing in her eyes. It was infectious.

"It must feel good to say that."

Rei sighed happily. "You can't even imagine." She put her finger to her lips. "You know, I think that's the first time I've said that out loud. Besides to Usagi, of course."

"I'm honored," Makoto said, smiling.

"Well, get used to hearing it," Rei said earnestly. "And, you know, if it makes you feel any better..." She licked her lips, and a faint blush spread across her cheeks. "You definitely weren't the last one to find out. About us."

"No?" Something in Rei's voice intrigued her. "Who was?"

Rei took a long drink of her tea. "...Luna," she said into the glass.

It took a moment for that to sink in. Makoto's eyebrows climbed to the top of her head. "Oh my God! Did she...? Were you guys...?"

Rei closed her eyes and took a slow breath, nostrils flaring. "Not... quite. But, if she had jumped in the window ten minutes earlier, she would have gotten a hell of an eyeful." She grinned. "And of course, it was like 30 degrees that afternoon, so we were on top of the sheets cuddling and trying to cool down when she showed up. It was preeetty obvious what we'd been up to."

Makoto shook her head slowly. "She must have gone ballistic."

"It was a mad house. Luna was screeching at us, Usagi was yelling at her... I was trying to cover us up, but all the blankets were on the floor... It was maybe the most awkward thing I've ever experienced."

Makoto cringed. "Sounds like a nightmare."

"Well, you know... somehow it ended up okay. I think she was more surprised than anything. We all were, I guess. Once everyone had calmed down we actually had a shockingly adult conversation about it. And I can't exactly blame her for being surprised. It still doesn't feel real, sometimes." Rei smiled grimly. "It might even have been for the best. We'd been debating if we were going to tell our families or try and keep things on the down low for a while, but I think that settled things for us. If we're sneaking around all the time, eventually we're gonna get caught. And Luna might kind of _act_ like a mom, but at least she can't actually punish Usagi, or try and forbid us from seeing each other or anything. But, then I imagine if it had been Usagi's mom walking in on us..."

"Or Shingo."

Rei's eyes widened. "God, I forgot about Shingo. His room is right next door... I didn't even think about that. I don't which would be worse."

"No kidding..." Makoto swirled her tea idly in her glass, choosing her next words carefully. "So... have you guys given much thought about what's going to happen next? After this little honeymoon of yours is over?"

"Honeymoon?" Rei said, cocking her head slightly.

Makoto gave her a wry look. "I mean, like... all your food is paid for, you have no rent or bills to pay, no school, no jobs, no parents. no interruptions... pretty much nothing for you to worry about except each other, right? I'm sure it's been great, but what's going to happen once Usagi's family gets back? And once the summer is over and we're back in school?"

"It's going to suck. Obviously," Rei said bluntly. She straightened her shoulders, her expression turning fierce. "I'm not stupid, Mako. I know we're just... playing house right now. We both know. Of _course_ it's going to be hard to go from spending every minute together to seeing each other once a day if we're lucky. Of _course_ it's going to be hard to wake up alone and do chores at 6:30 in the morning when we've barely made it out of bed before noon for the last two weeks. Of _course_ it's going to be hard to go to school by myself while the four of you get to spend the whole day together."

Makoto put her hands up. "I sorry, I didn't mean that to sound negative."

Rei took a deep breath, and her face softened. "Mako, two weeks ago, I would have said that if I could only spend a single night together with Usagi, that would be enough to last me a lifetime. But... last night, we were shopping for dinner together. We were standing there in the store, looking at onions or something, and Usagi just... held my hand. She didn't look at me, or say anything. Just held my hand, like it was the most natural thing in the world. And I just about started crying." She looked straight into Makoto's eyes. "This isn't a honeymoon for me, Makoto. This is a... a taste of something real we could have together. A life, together. Maybe that's a crazy thing to be thinking after only two weeks, but I don't care. I am in this to the absolute bitter goddamn end. I will _fight_ for this. School, parents, and destiny be damned."

A wide smile spread across Makoto's face. That was more like it. Nothing brought out Rei's inner fire like a challenge. "You know, seeing you get all worked up about it actually makes me less worried."

Color crept across Rei's cheeks. "Sorry, I guess I've kinda been practicing that rant in my head for a while. Usagi and I have been talking about this stuff a lot for the last few days. There's no way around it, things are going to be hard. We have school, and exams, and maybe coming out to our families, and...and I'm sure at some point that Mamoru is going to come back from school... it gets me worked up."

"No need to apologize. I really can't imagine what you guys are going through."

"Thanks," Rei said. "I just need to vent a bit, I guess."

"How, uh... how did things end up going with Mamoru?" Makoto asked. She didn't like to pry, but it wasn't often Rei opened up so readily. It wasn't the kind of opportunity you wasted. Besides, it sounded like she needed an outlet.

Rei stared down into her glass, looking hesitant. "That's really something you should ask Usagi. I think... I think it went as well as you could reasonably expect. I don't think he was as upset as he could have been. Or maybe deserved to be. Things had been rocky for a long time, though. Maybe it wasn't a huge shock to him." She grimaced. "Apparently, he wasn't particularly surprised to find it out I was the other woman. Which kind of annoys me? Like, I know it isn't reasonable or fair, but it kind of pisses me off that he might have known I had feelings for her."

"Well, maybe he knows you better than you think. You guys went out, right?" Makoto offered.

Rei winced. "God, I _really_ try not to think about that."

"That bad?"

"No, not _bad_ really, but... that whole thing was basically young Rei saying, 'look at me, I don't like girls, and I can prove it!' to everyone I was convinced was watching. God, after all the Serenity and Endymion stuff came out... I was sooo relieved when they got together and let me off the hook. How little I knew..." Rei chuckled morosely. "You know, I don't think we ever actually officially broke up? Everything was so crazy back then. I guess you could say that technically _he_ was cheating on _me_ with Usagi this whole time."

"I don't know if that's a defense I would use," Makoto said diplomatically.

Rei frowned. "I know, I know. It's not like I'm particularly proud of how we... handled things. Everything just happened so fast, you know? And afterwards... it was nice to just pretend the outside world didn't exist for a little while."

"Yes, we noticed," said Makoto drily. "This is, what, the third time you've left the house in the last two weeks?"

"I know, I'm sorry! Time just seems to go by so _fast_. Minako was right to call us out on it. We let things go on in secret for too long. And I wasn't exactly encouraging Usagi to call him. I guess part of me was scared that as soon as she heard his voice, she'd realize she had made a huge mistake and run into his arms. So to speak."

Makoto's thoughts turned to Ami and Michiru, side-by-side, chatting away on a train to Paris. "Did you ever... hate him? Like for keeping you and Usagi apart?"

Rei blinked in surprise. "I... hmm. When Usagi seemed happy, it was easier to handle, for sure. That's what I tell myself, I guess. But... back when he went overseas the first time, when Usagi told me he hadn't called or written to her since the day he left, for just a moment I... I hated him _so_ much. I mean, not for very long, since it was obvious that something bad must've happened, but in that moment... Usagi was so hurt and so confused and so afraid to tell me. That was probably the closest I came to telling her how I felt, just in the hopes of easing her pain."

Makoto nodded slowly. "I can understand that, I think. I wonder what would have happened."

"Oh, it would have been a complete disaster," Rei said matter-of-factly. "Looking back on it now... If something _had_ happened between us, and then we found out Galaxia has stolen his starseed?" She shook her head. "I know we didn't handle this perfectly, but it could have been so much worse. Other than that... I got mad at him a lot. I was jealous. Or envious, I can never remember. But, I don't think I hated him."

"Okay, but what about when Usagi told us he was going back to America for school? You looked ready to storm out of the Crown and strangle him." Makoto sighed. "Of course, we were all pretty pissed off. I just assumed you were being protective of Usagi, though."

Rei's lips drew together in a thin line. "I don't think that was hate, just... he wasn't there. He didn't have to go through what we all did with Galaxia. He didn't have to watch Usagi watch him..." She stopped and took a slow breath. Makoto found her hands had curled themselves into fists unconsciously, and she made herself relax them. "The two of them went through their own stuff with Beryl and Fiore. We've _all_ been through a lot. It just... made me mad to see him walk away from what they had so casually when I would have given anything to be in his place."

"I'm sure it was a hard decision for him to make."

"Yeah, I know. Thinking about it doesn't really make me mad like it used to. But then I guess it worked out pretty well for me, soooo..." Rei threw back the last of her tea as Makoto studied her. If this was Rei not getting mad, well, she must have been in a pretty bad place in those days. But, if reliving those memories had darkened her mood, it didn't for long. Rei cleared the dishes over Makoto's objections, and by the time everything was put away, she was all smiles again.

Well, now that the mood was a little lighter, Makoto intended to keep it that way. "So, what's living with Usagi been like? I hope she doesn't have you doing all the cooking and cleaning for her."

Rei shook her head firmly. "Oh, absolutely not. We do everything together: all the shopping, all the cooking, and all the chores."

"You... share the cooking?" Makoto asked with concern.

"There were a few rough meals, at first," Rei said, smiling fondly. "But, Usagi is perfectly capable of cooking if you don't let her get flustered or overwhelmed. We just follow simple recipes and try to avoid, uh, 'improvising'. We made curry from scratch last night, and Usagi did most of the work. It was pretty good, if I say so myself. I might be biased, though."

"That's great! Don't knock simple, some of the best recipes are like three ingredients in a pan. As long as it tastes good, who cares how simple it is, that's what I say."

"Yeah! We have to keep things pretty basic to stretch her budget between the two of us, but I think we're doing okay. Let's see, I've also taught her how to use the washer and dryer, how to use an iron, how to hang linens, how to sew on buttons..." Rei's face turned a deep pink for some reason, but she continued. "… how to clean her pots and pans without scratching them up, how to change a vacuum bag... we even both got our summer homework done early."

Makoto wrinkled her brow. "What, all of it? Already? How did you manage that? Me and Minako still have a ton to do." With Ami gone, they had been slacking off badly. It was sad how much they both depended on her to keep them on track.

"Well, as it turns out, Usagi responds very well to a... certain type of incentive," Rei said coyly.

Makoto felt herself flush. "Someone's really working for those parental brownie points," she laughed, trying to cover her embarrassment. God, it was one thing hearing that stuff from Minako, but _Rei_?

"Every little bit counts, right? Maybe if I look like a good influence on Usagi it'll be a little easier for them to swallow when we... tell them." Despite her earlier claim, it didn't seem like Rei was too keen on the idea.

"Hopefully. Do you think they'll have a problem with you two being together?"

Rei shrugged. "Usagi doesn't think so, but you never know until everything is out on the table, right? Look at Michiru. She told me once the only reason her parents didn't disown her is she's famous enough for it to potentially embarrass her family."

"That's awful..." Makoto said slowly, shame curdling in her stomach.

"Yeah, well, I'm not holding my breath that my father's reaction will be much better." Rei tossed her head angrily. "Not that I care. He's pretty low on my list of people to tell, anyway. Honestly, my biggest worry is that somehow all of this is going to get out at school."

"Really? I wouldn't have thought it was such a big deal... I mean, you hear things about all-girls' schools..."

"Like what, there are girls making out in every empty classroom and stairwell? It's nothing that exciting, trust me. I can name a few couples of the top of my head. Are they serious? Who knows. There are a lot of hormones in the air, plus we're an escalator school, so most of the girls there have barely spoken to a boy their own age since primary school. No one asks too many questions, and the administration tends to turn a blind eye unless you have, say, a screaming breakup in the middle of a hallway."

"It doesn't sound like anyone would really care, then. Besides, how would anyone even find out? Usagi doesn't even go to your school."

Rei sighed. "I don't know. Something silly, like someone sees us holding hands on the bus on the weekend, or something like that. Believe me, it wouldn't take much for 'Rei Hino has a secret girlfriend from another school' to shoot to the top of the rumor mill. And then what? Deny it? After everything we've sacrificed fighting in the name of love? I don't know if I could do that, no matter how much trouble it might bring down on me."

"I don't know what I would do." Makoto had enough experience being on the wrong side of the rumor mill, had seen enough side-eyed smirks and heard enough whispers behind cupped hands. It wasn't something she would wish on anyone.

"Well, what are they going do? Get my father involved, kick me out of school? I'll just come to school with you guys." She gave a laugh that sounded forced.

Makoto gave her a distracted half-smile in reply. Would Ami be subjected to that kind of treatment when they got back to school? Haruka and Michiru had never hidden their relationship during their final year, but they were adored by staff and students alike. Eventually, though, it would come out that Ami had gone to visit her in Europe... alone. Some people would connect the dots. Would they turn on her? Just thinking about it made her sick to her stomach.

And how had Ami's mother reacted to Michiru's invitation? She had seemed content enough when they all saw Ami off at the airport last week, but who knew what she actually thought about all this. Of course, Michiru was the kind of girl that any parent probably just _loved_...

Her front door flew open with a crash that made both of them jump. Minako and Usagi stood there, looking a little surprised themselves.

"Um, oops," Minako said with a wince. "I mean, uh, success!" She hoisted a canvas shopping bag forward triumphantly.

Makoto strode forward and grabbed it out of her hands. "At least my neighbors are still at work," she groused. Her stomach was still in knots, and she forced herself to calm down as she emptied the contents onto the counter for inspection. Alright, the yuzu was a little green, but that was fine, she'd just have to watch how much she used for the zest. A dozen eggs instead of six... well, it was omelet rice for dinner, then. And... "No cream?"

"Tada!" Usagi cried. She pulled her hands from behind her back to reveal a carton of cream. "Grocery pros to the rescue!"

"Yes, you remembered all three of them," Rei said drily. Instead of making a retort, Usagi handed Makoto the carton and then flung herself at Rei. Rei teetered backwards, arms pinwheeling, as Usagi glomped onto her. Makoto caught Minako's eye across the room; she was shaking her head, but the half-smile on her face seemed genuine enough. Good. Maybe she and Usagi were patching things up, then.

Usagi was shocked when Makoto asked her to help with the baking, but she accepted with an excited stammer in her voice. It was worth it to see the look of gratitude on Rei's face, not mention the alarmed look on Minako's. Usagi proved to be a perfectly adequate assistant, just as Rei had claimed. She peppered Makoto with questions about every stage of the recipe, but she listened to instructions and mostly kept her focus on the simple tasks Makoto assigned her. Her worst mistake was accidentally sifting some flour onto the stovetop while talking to Minako, which – by the scale of Usagi cooking disasters – barely even moved the needle.

The final product turned out pretty darn good, by Makoto's estimation. Yuzu was a little sharper than lemon, but the whipped cream balanced it out nicely. She joined Rei and Minako in making a production over what a good job Usagi had done. Usagi blushed profusely, but that didn't stop her from preening under their compliments.

"Maybe I'll make a cake for my family when they get home, to show them how much I've matured while they were gone," she declared, both hands clasped around a cup of black tea.

Minako opened her mouth, no doubt to crack a joke, but instead she looked at the sincerity on Usagi's face and said, "I'm sure they would really like that." Both Usagi and Rei beamed at her, and she blushed.

The happy couple made their goodbyes just after five. Makoto packed up the remaining cake for them to take home, to Usagi's immense excitement. The last thing she wanted was half a cake in the house, tempting her. Normally, she kept a few sweets at the ready for when everyone came over, but there hadn't been too much of that this summer. Everyone was off doing their own thing.

"Well, I suspect that's the last we'll see of those two for a while," MInako sighed. She sagged down on the couch, fanning herself with her hand. "But then I'm surprised we got them to come up for air that long, period."

"It was nice," Makoto said cautiously. "Did you, um, have a chance to talk to Usagi?"

"Hmm? Oh, yeah, we're good," Minako said, waving a hand dismissively.

Good, huh? Makoto frowned. She definitely seemed more relaxed around the two of them now, but if things were truly good, she be eagerly spilling every detail of their conversation. A reserved Minako threw immediate red flags. She could push it, of course, dig deeper, and Minako would let her, but she didn't know if she had that in her right now.

"So, what's for dinner?" asked Minako.

"Omelet rice," Makoto replied automatically. "No date tonight?"

"Nope."

Makoto's lips compressed into a worried line. "You wanna stay over again?"

"'f it's cool with you, yeah."

"Of course."

"Thanks." Minako stood up from the couch and walked past Makoto to the washroom. The smile she gave Makoto as she passed was grateful, but tired.

Makoto shook her head and turned back to the kitchen. They'd had that exchange, or something like it, so many times this summer. Minako hadn't been back home in nearly two weeks, except to change clothes. She talked big about having the time of her life during their last summer in school, and maybe she was since she spent half that time with Haruka, but it wasn't excitement that kept her up at night, tossing and turning next to Makoto on the bed.

Sometimes Makoto wondered if her own parents had fought the way Minako's did. She'd had the misfortunate of being at Minako's house during one of their arguments, once. What couldn't have been more than ten minutes had felt like hours. Minako had just stared down at the floor, looking angry and helpless, and when it was finally over she had smiled a bitter smile and said, "At least they're talking to each other, right?" And Artemis had told her later it was worse when Mina wasn't home.

Fortunately, Minako was an excellent houseguest. She couldn't be trusted in the kitchen, of course, but she made a point of helping with chores where she could, and she always chipped in some of her alowance for groceries. Sure, things were a little cramped with the two of them, especially first thing in the morning, but it felt good to have her so close.

They had a quiet dinner, and a quiet evening. Nothing on TV could hold their attention, so they ventured outside for a bit to wander. But, the summer heat boiled up from the streets long after the sun was down, and they ended up doing some impromptu grocery shopping just for the air conditioning. After that, she insisted they try and get some homework done, which Minako agreed to with surprisingly little objection.

A few hours of that was all she could take, and by then it was almost eleven. Minako looked relieved when Makoto finally announced she was going to bed. They played janken for the first bath, which Makoto won, as usual - Minako had a lot of faith in the unbeatable power of scissors. In her bedroom she pulled the baggy tank top over her head and shucked off her shorts, tossing them onto her bed. A happy groan escaped her lips as she pulled off her bra, and she promised herself for the thousandth time that next time she would take if off after she was done working out. "Goodbye, boob jail," she said to the empty room as she tossed it at her hamper, and she heard Minako laugh from the living room. Her fingers ran over the deep, tender ruts the underwire had left under her breasts. As much as she hated to admit it, it might be time to go up to an F cup. Yaaaaay. Her hands cupped her breasts and she glared at them in her vanity mirror. "You guys are killin' me," she complained.

In the end, she decided on just a cool shower rather than a bath. Minako was there, but didn't look up when she walked back into her bedroom. She was laying on the bed, naked except for a towel draped lazily over her torso, swiping wildly on her phone and swearing quietly to herself. From the sound of it, it was that terrible Sailor V Drops game she was always playing. Makoto sat down on the opposite side of the bed and grabbed her own phone from her shorts on the ground. There were messages from Ami waiting, and she braced herself as she opened them.

The first was a picture of Ami leaning back against a balcony railing, smiling and looking radiant as she brushed her hair behind her ear. The sky behind her was a cloudless, unreal blue. Even Makoto's untrained eye could tell it was a beautifully-framed shot. Chalk up one more thing Michiru was apparently great at. Beneath the picture were a few scant words.

 _Finally got checked into the hotel safe and sound! Going to have a late lunch and then it's off to the_ _Champs_ - _Élysées! Love to you all!_

Ah. A group message, then. She plugged in her phone and dropped it onto her dresser a little harder than she meant to, and turned to find Minako looking at her warily, phone in hand.

"I've never seen Ami use two exclamation points in a sentence before," Makoto said with false mirth. "She must be... really excited."

Minako put her phone aside and sat up. "You want me to brush your hair?"

"…'kay."

The bed creaked as Minako grabbed a brush and comb off the vanity and sat on her heels behind her. Makoto shivered slightly as gentle fingers brushed her bare neck and shoulders, gathering her damp hair. Minako started from the bottom, like she was always telling Makoto to. They were calming, those slow, steady strokes.

Not calming enough, though.

In her mind, Makoto had formed the question _am I overreacting?_ , but what came out instead was, "Am I a bad friend?" Her voice cracked on the last word, and suddenly she was blinking back tears - hot, angry tears that she'd been holding back for days.

Minako's hand never broke its rhythm. "No," she said firmly, in a voice that dared Makoto to argue.

Makoto was in an arguing mood.

"No? A good friend would be happy that Ami is happy, right?"

"You are."

"I'm what?"

"Happy for her," Minako said firmly. "That's what makes it so hard."

Makoto opened her mouth to contradict her, but snapped it shut again. "Okay," she conceded. "Maybe I am, on some level. But, like, how is this fair? You know? How am I... How is anyone supposed to compete with Michiru? She's smart, she's gorgeous, she's famous, she's loaded-" She paused, blinking back more tears. "She has all of her shit together in a way I could never even _dream_ of. How can I compete with that? How do I compete with... with fucking _Paris_?"

"Maybe you can't," said Minako.

Makoto craned her head around, wincing as the brush yanked at her hair. "What the hell kind of pep talk is this?" She knit her eyebrows angrily, but she didn't fight as Minako took her head in her hands and turned it straight again without a word.

"Maybe you can't compete," she said finally. "Maybe Ami likes that ultra-femme type. Maybe Ami likes artsy girls. Maybe Ami likes blue eyes. Maybe Ami even likes being spoiled, although personally I doubt it. Or maybe Ami just likes Michiru. We like what we like, Mako. It's not like any of us really get to choose who we're attracted to. I'm sure Ami was just as surprised to find out as we were."

Makoto grunted by way of reply. Ami discovering feelings for Michiru was hardly something she wanted to think about.

"And if we're being perfectly fair here, it's not like Michiru stole her away from you or something."

Makoto sighed. "I know."

"Two weeks ago I tried to talk to you about Ami for like the millionth time and you gave me the same non-answer you always do. If there _was_ a competition, you didn't even enter."

"I know!" she said. Okay, yelled. "I get it, alright? I'm like a, a kid who sees another kid playing with a toy, and now I want to play with it! I just... sat around for all this time, hoping all my shit would figure itself out and whatever it was I really wanted would just... fall into my lap. And now it's too late. Michiru just fuckin`… swooped in and, and-" she stopped, scrubbing angrily at her eyes with her fists. "She gets whatever she wants, as usual, and I just get to sit here at home and hear about how all my friends are screwing all my _other_ friends." She gave a short, bitter laugh. "I mean, God, who's even left? Should I just call Setsuna and see if she wants to fool around?"

The brush in her hair stopped mid-stroke for moment. "I mean... you could," Minako said slowly.

Makoto snorted. "Uh huh." She smiled for a second before she remembered she was mad. "I _hate_ this. I hate feeling like this. I hate being jealous. I hate how I tense up now every time I my phone vibrates. It's like... when did I become this person? Two weeks ago I thought I was happy. And now, now I'm _this_."

She felt the bed shift as Minako leaned forward and slid both arms around her neck, resting her head against Makoto's. "It's okay to be upset," she said softly, almost too softly to hear. "Being honest with your feelings doesn't just mean the good ones."

Something in Minako's voice made her twist around in time to catch Minako hurriedly wiping her own cheek. Her anger fled her in an instant at the sight, and she turned around and pulled Minako into her arms. How could she have been so selfish? Sitting here ranting about her own damage as if Minako wasn't sort of going through the same thing. At least Ami and Michiru were far away. Makoto didn't have to sit and smile while they were being all lovey-dovey right in front of her.

"I just... I don't like seeing you so upset, that's all," Minako sniffled.

Makoto decided to let her have the lie. "You don't have to look after everyone yourself," she rumbled, hugging her tighter.

"You're one to talk." Minako's arms slowly made their way around her and returned her embrace. "Mako... please don't be angry at them. I know it hurts, but... all we have is each other."

"That's not true."

"It _is_ ," Minako said with surprising vehemence. "Life will push some of us together and pull some of us apart, but in the end, we're all bound up together." She pulled back and touched her forehead to Makoto's. "Ami is with Michiru right now, sure, but at the end of the summer she'll be home again. We'll all be back together in school. She'll be a little different, maybe more confident, less afraid to look you in the eye. I think... I think a lot of us will come out of this summer a little different. There will be other chances."

"Why would anyone want me over _her_?"

Makoto caught a flash of anger in Minako's eyes a moment before a hand seized a handful of damp hair at the nape of her neck. That hand held her head fast, but Minako needn't have bothered; all Makoto could do was stand shock-still as she rose on her knees and sealed their lips together. Even as shocked as she was, she found herself kissing back instinctively. A squeak of surprise escaped the corner of her mouth when Minako's tongue danced across her lips, but she squeezed her eyes shut and parted them. Minako's tongue sliding deftly into her mouth was the weirdest, most exhilarating sensation, far outside of her own limited experience. It was all Makoto could do to keep up – she mimicked the darting and teasing of Minako's tongue without thinking. Her hands hovered, paralyzed and unsure, until Minako actually grabbed one by the wrist and placed it on her hip. Her bare, silky, warm, hip.

Makoto's brain was still running half a dozen steps behind. She barely registered when Minako slid herself off of the bed, since she kept her mouth locked against Makoto's while she did. And she didn't notice that Minako had turned them both around until she stepped backwards and felt the edge of the mattress jut against the back of her knee. She definitely _did_ feel Minako tug the towel off her body. She pulled away from their kiss long enough to stammer, "W-what?" before she lost her balance. The bedsprings squeaked a complaint as she plopped back onto it.

She pushed herself up on her elbows to find Minako standing above her. Her cheeks were a deep pink, and she wore a sweet smile as she gazed down. Makoto's towel dangled from her fingers, and her own was gone who knew where. She had obviously spent some time in the sun, Makoto noticed dizzily – a hint of a tan on her arms and shoulders made her pale breasts and stomach stand out in vivid relief.

Minako cocked her head, and Makoto felt her face flush at being caught staring. With a twinkle in her eye, Minako made a show of looking Makoto's body up and down before letting the towel slip from her fingers with deliberate carelessness. She bent down and stalked cat-like over Makoto's body until their eyes were level. The light from the bedside lamps shone through the golden curtain of her hair, casting muted shadows across both their faces. One hand reached up to brush Makoto's cheek before sliding down her neck, down her arm, to lace its fingers tightly with her own.

When Minako lowered her body against Makoto's, all the air seemed leave her lungs in a single shuddery breath. Minako's lips brushed hers again, but this time she seized the initiative, and Minako murmured happily into her mouth as their tongues tussled. Minako's other arm slipped under the small of her back, pulling their bodies tighter together, and Makoto let her free arm do the same. Every tiny movement of Minako's body against her seemed to send sparks shooting down her spine.

It was Minako who pulled away first. She pushed herself up on her arms again, her mouth crooked in a tender smile. Her eyes bored into Makoto's as if searching for something. Whatever she found, her expression softened, and her fingers unlaced themselves from Makoto's to cup her cheek.

"I wish I could make you see yourself through my eyes," she said ruefully. She sat back on her heels, her face flushed, cheeks glistening with perspiration. "I'm sorry, I... That got a little wilder than I intended." She leaned forwarded and kissed Makoto gently on the forehead. "I think I'm gonna have that shower."

Makoto didn't know what to say, and so she said nothing as Minako eased herself off the bed. She bent over and picked a towel from the floor and walked out of the room. She looked back at Makoto as she passed the doorway, her expression unreadable, and then she was gone.

Makoto just laid there and stared at the ceiling. The air conditioner's rattling hum was the only sound in the room until it was joined by the gentle white noise of the shower from down the hall. She could feel the stripe of cool air it painted across her body as it swept back and forth, making the rest of her feel hotter in its passing. She could also feel the tingling remnants of Minako's lips on hers. Her hand slid slowly up her stomach, feeling goosebumps beneath her fingertips that she couldn't blame on the cold air.

"Well, fuck," she said to no one in particular.

What the hell just happened? Why had Minako just jumped on her and, just as importantly, why had she stopped? One thing was for sure, for someone who had spent of hefty chunk of the last two years agonizing over her own sexuality, it sure hadn't taken much effort to get her naked under another girl. No, not much at all. And her brain might be a jumbled mess right now, but her body had responded like it knew exactly what it wanted. Makoto stared at the ceiling, two fingers toying idly with one of her nipples. She was pretty wound up, that was for damned sure. Between gnashing her teeth over Ami and Minako all but moving in to her apartment, she hadn't had a chance to... take care of business... in days. God, almost a week. There was definitely a very anxious part of her that was sorely regretting that things hadn't gone further. She couldn't help wonder what would happen if she just stayed here like this until Minako got back...

But, no. With a reluctant grunt, Makoto sat up and began to dig through her dresser for a shirt to wear to bed. She could almost believe this had all been some kind of ploy of Minako's to distract her from her self-loathing, but the facts just didn't fit. She didn't know which was more alarming: that Minako had come onto her so suddenly, or that she had stopped so abruptly. Minako was a shameless flirt sometimes, but she didn't toy with people's feelings. And she didn't half-ass it when she had her sights set on someone - Haruka could probably vouch for that.

So what was it then? Was she still hurting over something Usagi said while they were gone? They'd seemed to be getting along so well earlier. Had Makoto missed something, some sign? Or maybe it was just hormones. The two of them had been cooped up together so long.

She settled on a baggy grey tank top and plain white panties, sliding them on quickly before falling back onto the bed. If Minako hadn't been here, she would have been happy to sleep naked under a sheet in this heat. She could crank the A/C, but they would probably just end up sleeping on top of the covers again tonight. Hopefully tonight would be a little cooler; this morning she had woken half-soaked in sweat with Minako curled up against her, blocking the A/C. She couldn't imagine how Rei and Usagi were surviving, snuggled into that twin bed right under the window.

Well, that wasn't true. It was all too easy to imagine it – bedding kicked into a forgotten pile on the floor, their bodies entwined, glistening with sweat in the midnight heat. Makoto's hands slid anxiously up her thighs, and she cocked her head, making sure she could still hear the shower running. It was a bad idea. She _knew_ it was a bad idea. Yes, Minako always took long showers, but she had lost track of time. Even as wound up as she was, she would probably need several minutes to get off. There was a vibrator sitting in her night stand, testament to a moment of mad, impulsive bravery in a Don Quijote just after her birthday. It would be faster, but also a lot more difficult to hide if it came to that. No, no, this was insane. Things were already weird enough without Minako walking in on her frantically jilling off.

In the end, her fingers overruled her brain, slipping under the waistband of her panties of their own volition. They slid down over her mons to find herself slick and ready to roll. Her fears of being caught were suddenly small and unimportant next to the unrelenting ache inside her. Still, that didn't mean there was time to tease herself. This was all business. She slid three fingers up and down her slit, drawing her wetness upwards before settling in to massage her clit in fast, rough circles. Normally, she would have used both hands, but that didn't work well with panties on, so her free hand had to settle for pulling and pinching one of her nipples roughly through her top.

Her mind began to wander as she fell into a familiar rhythm, flitting from fantasy to fantasy. She pictured Minako's weight on top of her, their breasts crushed together, her tongue deep and eager in Makoto's mouth. It sent a shudder through her, but it was too new, too raw. Plus, she was worried Minako would be able to see it on her face somehow, after. It would be worse than being caught in the act. Still, she lingered on it for a few moments longer, letting fingers pick up their pace a little.

The sudden absence of sound made her freeze. There was a quiet _thunk_ from her pipes as the shower turned off. Makoto stayed motionless, straining to hear over the sound of her heart hammering, her hand hovering mid-stroke. She heard the scrape of her plastic stool against the tile floor and bit her lip, praying the sound of running water would resume. Please have a bath. Minako. She needed this. Have a bath. Have a fucking bath!

Instead, she caught the faint sounds of Minako singing to herself, the way she always did while she was drying off. Makoto's head sank back onto the pillow and she growled in frustration. With her momentum broken, she'd never be able to finish before Minako got out, even if she dried her hair first. Life just wasn't fair.

Swearing quietly under her breath, Makoto slid off the bed. Her reflection in the mirror was flush-faced and a little wild-eyed, and it probably wouldn't hurt to brush her hair out again before it dried. Her nipples poked accusingly through her top and she prodded one with a finger, willing it to go away. It did not. Well, she could always blame the air conditioning.

Minako was still singing to herself as Makoto walked past the bathroom to the kitchen. She quickly washed her hands and poured herself a glass of water, draining it in a single go. She was pouring another when Minako finally emerged. She had one hand holding a towel around herself, while the other tried to balance her hair, which was wrapped in another towel in a crooked tower above her head. Makoto frowned. Minako insisted it was better for her hair, but she wasn't the one who had to wash all the towels. It never stayed up, either. She watched as Minako carefully ducked under the bedroom doorframe. Last night she had walked right into it.

"Mako?" came her confused voice.

"Hey," Makoto called, and she spun around. Her tower of hair began to topple, like it always did, and Minako let out a squawk of alarm, like she always did. Both of her hands shot up in a futile attempt to salvage it, and the other towel fell to the floor. Like it always did. She could almost think that Minako did this slapstick routine on purpose, but she always got so adorably flustered for some reason. She wandered the apartment half-naked without a care in the world – Makoto had given up scolding her for it – but watching her scramble to cover herself with one hand while trying to push her hair off her face, you would almost think she had an ounce of shame.

She sipped her water as Minako slowly composed herself. She didn't bother to put her hair back up – she never did, making it all the more confusing that she even bothered in the first place – instead wrapping the second towel around her shoulders like a shawl.

"Are you staying up?" she asked.

"Nah. Just getting a drink," Makoto said, gesturing with her glass.

"Ah." Minako walked into the kitchen and leaned against the counter next to her. Her fingers drummed against the countertop for a moment, and then she announced, "So, uh, I'm an idiot."

"Minako..."

"Just... gimme a sec here, okay?" Minako said carefully. "I... hmm. How should I put this. I don't like hearing you be so down on yourself. I mean yes, they are your real and completely valid feelings, and I don't want to make you feel bad about... about feeling bad, but..."

"I know," said Makoto quietly.

"I just thought... You're amazing and beautiful and surrounded by people who love you. And I'm one of them! But, I went way overboard. I'm sorry." A sly grin crossed her face. "Even if you were totally into it."

"Pfff, what, no," Makoto said, turning her face down into her glass.

Minako let her denial slide. "Anyway, it was a dumb move on my part. It's hard to believe, but sex doesn't solve everything."

"Are you sure you wanna go on the record with that?"

Minako shrugged. "Well, like they say, when all you're doing is getting nailed, everything looks like a hammer."

Makoto stared at her for a moment and then slowly rinsed out her glass and put it in the sink. "Alright, I changed my mind, you are an idiot. Let's go to bed."

* * *

It was all Minako's fault. It really was. That's what Makoto told herself. Had to tell herself, really. She worried her lip between her teeth as she glanced at Minako's sleeping form from the corner of her eye. She usually took the longest showers. Why, why, why couldn't she have just taken five more minutes that one time?

Makoto had made them switch sides of the bed, but it wasn't the air conditioner making her shiver now. She squeezed her eyes shut as her middle finger slid slowly up and down over the hood of her clit, her knuckles rasping softly against the cotton of her panties. It was the only movement she made – every muscle she had was tense with the effort of remaining as still and silent as a statue. Her other hand was balled around a fistful of her comforter. Her legs were squeezed tight, and she was perched on the edge of the bed, as far as she could get from Minako. This was, as it turned out, not particularly far. It would take her all night to get off this way, if she could at all. But, hey, at least it was more than enough to drive herself crazy while she wondered what the _fuck_ she was thinking.

It was all Minako's fault. She could _feel_ her lying next to her; she was aware of her presence in a way she had never experienced before. Makoto cracked one careful eyelid, but Minako was still asleep, curled up facing her on top of the covers. A white stripe of bare skin seemed to glow between her borrowed shirt and the flower-print hiphuggers that were riding high on her bare thighs. Makoto could still see it when she closed her eye again, like it was burnt into her retinas.

It certainly wasn't _her_ fault. She hadn't asked Minako to kiss her. She hadn't asked Minako to pin her to the bed with her naked body. She hadn't asked Minako to tell her every exquisite detail of her encounters with Haruka, no matter how raptly Makoto herself had listened. She had never asked her brain to edit those stories so it was _her_ on that giant bed under Haruka's hungry eyes. Or, now, her perched above Minako's eager, naked body. Or Haruka and Minako both together, making love with heedless abandon beneath her mind's eye.

And it wasn't just them. What about Rei and Usagi? Those long, breathtaking looks. Rei's bold little innuendos. It wasn't hard at all to imagine them tangled together, sighing happy little sighs of love and lust under the starlight. It was shameful, picturing her friends like this, but it was so _good_ , too. Makoto's nostrils flared and she sucked air through clenched teeth as her finger picked up the pace. It was a terrible habit she was developing, and she promised herself that this would be the last time.

Again.

Once she was done.

What was really annoying, she reflected, was that Minako wouldn't even care. Makoto wouldn't be able to look her in the eyes for who knew how long, but _she_ would probably laugh it off with some eyeroll-inducing joke, some mangled saying, while Makoto sputtered and stammered. Or worse, she wouldn't laugh it off. She'd get that look in her eye, just she had earlier, and she would slowly sit up, and then straddle Makoto's hips, and then her face would get closer... and closer...

Makoto's thighs clenched around her hand, and she curled her toes until her calves ached. Then, she relaxed her muscles and let herself sag back down against the sheets. This was insane, she told herself for the ten thousandth time. What time was it? How long had she been torturing herself? Maybe it was time to just sneak out into the living room and finish herself off there. She could pretend she was going to the bathroom. Who would question that? And it would be so good...

Makoto knew she wasn't being entirely rational, but her decision-making abilities were rapidly eroding under her middle finger. She turned, craning her head to try and see her alarm clock on the other side of Minako, and then froze. Minako's eyes were charcoal grey in the room's emaciated light, and if they were half-lidded and dreamy they were still staring right into her own.

This isn't what it looks like. This is all just a crazy dream. I'm not masturbating, **you're** masturbating! Alibis and excuses ran through her mind, each dumber than the last, but she couldn't seem to squeeze any out of her throat. One day, she would look back and reflect that if Minako had cracked a joke or made some stupid innuendo or so much as arched an inappropriate eyebrow, there would have been a solid chance that Makoto would have had a mild-to-moderate meltdown. Instead, she gave Makoto a sleepy half-smile and said:

"Hey."

"H-hey," Makoto managed to croak. God, her mouth was dry all of a sudden.

"Couldn't sleep?"

"Not... really?"

"Yeah, me neither." Minako made a cute noise as she stretched her arms above her head. She rolled onto her back, but kept her head lolled toward Makoto. "Mind if I... join you?"

It must have been a rhetorical question, because her right hand was already sliding down her torso. With her head up, Makoto had a clear view of it slipping beneath the waistband of her panties without a shred of hesitation. Minako's eyes closed, and she breathed a contented sigh.

That was all the permission Makoto's addled brain needed. "Fuck it," she hissed. "Move over, will you? I'm practically falling off the bed here." Minako did as instructed, laughing softly. Heaving her hips off of the bed, Makoto yanked off her own panties, balled them up, and tossed them in the vague direction of her hamper. She spread her legs akimbo, her thigh making hot, dizzying contact with Minako's.

Minako rolled onto her side, trapping Makoto's leg between her own soft thighs as she curled up against her. Her left hand slid under Makoto's neck and reached up to trail fingers against her cheek. Minako nuzzled into her, making quiet, maddening noises into Makoto's ear as her other hand worked feverishly between her legs.

Why waste time on half-measures at this point, right? With one hand, Makoto pulled and squeezed one stiff nipple through her shirt, while she slid her whole palm over her open sex with the other. She was as wet as she could ever remember being, and after sliding through her swollen lips a few times, she pushed two fingers inside herself easily. Her head fell back into the crook of Minako's elbow as she squeezed her muscles around her fingers, and she let out a soft moan.

Soon, so soon, even that wasn't enough. She felt lips brush against her cheek and down her jaw as her free hand moved down to join the party, mashing her clit roughly with three fingers. Her hands knew this dance, speeding up as they found their rhythm. Her jaw was clenched as she pumped her fingers at a firm and steady pace, and the fingers of her other hand were a blur. There was no time pressure, no need to race this time, but she couldn't help it; her body began to twist and writhe on the sheets as she raced towards her long overdue orgasm, the tendons standing out on her neck, her pulse red and pounding, her eyes squeezed shut.

When she got close, her legs clamped around her hands and she arched back, hips leaving the bed as her head hit the pillow. Her breath whistled between her teeth as she strained towards her climax. Minako's fingers stroked her cheek before stretching over to brush over her lips. Her voice curled in Makoto's ear in a wordless hum of encouragement, sending shivery ripples down her whole right side. They were the tiny push that finally sent her over the edge. Her muscles seized and her body went rigidly still, except the fingers she still strummed frantically over her clit.

Finally, Makoto sagged back against the sheets, panting. Her orgasm had been like nothing she'd ever felt before; it had been like a living thing, pulling at her, wringing out every drop of her. She was more than spent – she felt borderline delirious. Sweat beaded on her forehead, and she could feel it running between her shoulder blades as well.

Her left hand was still cupped almost protectively over her sex. She was so sensitive that even that careful pressure sent electric tingles through her. Her right hand had at some point found its way into Minako's; their fingers were laced so tightly they almost hurt. She lolled her head to the side. Minako's face was so close that the tips of their noses nearly touched, and for a moment she struggled to focus her eyes on her. She still wore that sleepy smile, but her lips were parted so slightly. Makoto watched her tongue dart out to wet them.

"Mako," she murmured, and Makoto could hear the taut urgency in her voice, "kiss me."

From deep within her warm, squishy afterglow this seemed like a perfectly reasonable request to Makoto. Minako craned her head back as she bent down. It couldn't have been more different than their first kiss. This kiss was haphazard and scattershot; one moment Minako would be teasing with just the tip of her tongue, the next she would be sucking on Makoto's lower lip, or not even really kissing at all, just panting softly into Makoto's mouth. It was strange, but sweet, somehow.

Finally, her fingers clenched Makoto's spasmodically and she buried her face down into Makoto's shoulder. Makoto turned onto her side and pulled her closer with her free arm, her hand stroking the small of Minako's back as she shuddered and gasped. Makoto buried her own face into Minako's hair. She breathed in deeply, taking in the scent of her own shampoo. She could feel the tension drain from Minako's body as she finished... coming. Just thinking the word made heat rush back to her cheeks, but she just pulled Minako tighter in defiance of her embarrassment.

They stayed in that position for a while. Makoto listened to the air conditioner's hum, her mind blank and fuzzy. The tapering bliss of her own climax still had her feeling tingly, keeping her on the knife-edge between total satisfaction and the desire for more. When Minako finally raised her head and brought her lips to Makoto's, she thought she was going to make the decision for her. But, after a single long, sweet kiss, Minako just... rolled onto her side and spread-eagled onto the bed.

"That... was nice. Unexpected, but really nice." Makoto's hand was still in hers, and she gave it a squeeze.

"...Yeah," Makoto said after a pause. Part of her was still tense, unsure of what Minako was going to do next. Unsure of what she _wanted_ Minako to do next. Unsure of anything, really.

"So, uh, must've been a while for you, huh?"

Makoto pursed her lips, but there wasn't much point in getting uptight now. "Yeah, I guess."

"Well, as someone who sleeps with a talking cat at the foot of her bed, trust me when I say: I understand."

Makoto thought about Rei's story of Luna catching Usagi and her together. At least she was a girl cat. Did that matter? It must.

"One week he interrupted me like... four nights in a row. I was so wound up I actually chased him down the hall with a tennis racquet in my underwear. My parents thought I was insane." She paused as Makoto giggled at the mental image. "So, look, I know I've been kinda imposing on you a lot lately-"

"It's fine," said Makoto quickly. "Really. It was just... one of those days." She glanced over at Minako, who smiled back at her.

"Yeah, I hear that," she said. "Seriously, though, if I'm in your way here at all, you can boot me out anytime. I do have a home."

"I know," Makoto said, knowing that she would never be able to do any such thing.

"Alternatively, you could just do what I do and take care of business in the shower."

"Uh huh... wait, in _my_ shower? Minako!"

"Mmmhmmmmm," Minako purred. She wriggled against the sheets. "Your shower head is amazing. It's crazy how much better it is than the one we have at my house. Have you never...?"

"No! I mean..." Makoto trailed off, suddenly feeling self-conscious. At some point she had fallen so far behind all of her friends when it came to... this stuff. When had it happened? Or had she always been this painfully naïve?

"I could show you how, if you want," Minako said playfully. "Your bathroom is a little small, but we could make it work."

Makoto shook her head. "I'm... good."

"Suit yourself. Definitely try it sometime, that's all I'm saying." She squeezed Makoto's hand again and closed her eyes.

Makoto watched her chest rise and fall for a while, trying to work up the courage to ask a question before Minako fell asleep. "Hey," she said finally.

"Hmmm?

"So, um, what we did, would you say that it... counts?"

Minako made a sleepy noise. "Counts?"

"Counts as us, um, you know..." Makoto mumbled around the nervous lump in her throat. "… h-having sex."

"Oh!" Minako's eyes popped open. "Hmm." She appeared to ponder for a moment. "I'm leaning towards 'no', personally, but I guess you could make an argument either way. Sex is a surprisingly hard thing to nail down." She waggled her eyebrows. "If you know what I mean."

Makoto rolled her eyes.

"But, seriously, sex happens way more up here-" Minako tapped her forehead. "- than anywhere else. So, if you feel like what we did was sex, that's your call. I'm not the sex police. And... whatever you want to call it, it was something beautiful and intimate and I'm glad I got to share it with you."

"Oh, um, thanks?" Makoto felt fire rush back into her face. "Can I ask you... why do you think 'no'?"

"Turn onto your side," Minako said in reply.

"Wha-?"

"Facing me, come on."

"O...kay." As soon as Makoto complied, Minako rolled over to face away from her and then quickly scooted backwards until her butt was socketed squarely into Makoto's lap. She reached back, grabbed Makoto's hand, and pulled her arm across her body like a seatbelt. She arched her back a little, pushing her boob firmly into Makoto's palm. Makoto was too shocked to say anything as Minako wriggled back against her a little more, her hand trapping Makoto's against her breast, and let out a happy sigh.

It was... comfortable. More than comfortable. Makoto pulled Minako tighter, felt her breast squish intriguingly under her hand. She nuzzled into the nape of Minako's neck unconsciously, and Minako sighed again.

"If we did have sex," Minako murmured suddenly, her voice thick and contented, "trust me, you wouldn't need to ask."

* * *

Makoto leaned forward, rolling the tennis ball through her fingers behind her back. Across the net, Haruka crouched, low and tense. She spun her racquet in her palm, the way she always did when she was waiting for a serve, and shifted her weight from her right foot to her left and back again.

"Match point!" Makoto called to her.

"I know," Haruka called back, sounding the tiniest bit impatient.

Makoto hid her smile by pretending to adjust her wrist cuff. She brought the ball out from behind her back and saw Haruka freeze for a moment, but all she did was bounce it against the court a few times. Haruka's eyes narrowed. She reached up to push her sweatband up her forehead, and Makoto struck, her arms unfurling in two sinuous motions. She could feel the shock up her arm a split second before the ball tore its way over the net towards Haruka's weaker left side. Caught with one hand off her racquet, all Haruka could do was lunge for it. She caught the very edge of the ball with the frame of her racquet, sending it careening over the sideline.

Haruka staggered to a stop and put her hands on her knees. When she stood straight a moment later, she wore a wry smile. She strolled over to the side of the court to retrieve the ball, and Makoto followed.

"Good game," she said, tossing the ball to Makoto and grabbing her towel.

Makoto caught the ball on the head of her racquet and bounced it a few times before snatching it out of the air. "Look on the bright side," she said sweetly, "at least it wasn't another ace!"

Haruka gave her a look as she plunked herself down next to her. "Fuck, tell me about it. You were killing it today. In my defense, I haven't played in weeks."

"Excuses, excuses." Makoto pulled her sports bottle out of her bag and took a sip. The water was somewhere south of lukewarm, but that didn't stop her from draining half of it in one go. She glanced at Haruka from the corner of her eye as she did, trying to gauge if there were any hard feelings. It was an old habit – a bad habit, really – born of many years of dominating team sports in gym class, but Haruka seemed fine. Tennis was the only sport the two of them were evenly matched in, with Haruka's edge in speed balancing out Makoto's edge in power. So evenly matched, in fact, that Makoto usually had to resort to psychology to win. Every sport had its mind games, though. She didn't lose any sleep over it.

Haruka had her hand up to shade her eyes as she watched another pair of girls playing on the far court. It looked like she been getting a lot of sun this summer; her arms were a deep gold all the way to her shoulders. Her long, well-muscled legs were a matching color up to the hem of the white track shorts she wore.

"Do you miss school at all?" Makoto asked. Haruka glanced her way, forcing her to drag her eyes off Haruka's legs.

"I miss seeing you guys every day," she answered with a shrug. "School I could really take or leave."

"It was great, wasn't it? It was the closest we'll get to having us all together at once at the same time."

"Until Crystal Tokyo, I guess."

"...I guess." Makoto took another sip of her water before proffering the bottle to Haruka, who took it absentmindedly.

"Actually, there's a good chance Hotaru'll be starting with you guys as a first-year when class is back on."

Makoto blinked in surprise. "What, already?" Hotaru was barely three months into her second year at some private middle school on the other side of the city, and had been doing well. Academically, at least.

"Yup. She's already grown something like twenty centimeters since Christmas, and she's bored to tears in her classes."

"It must be hard on her, having to jump from school to school so often. Is she still having trouble interacting with kids her own age?"

Haruka grinned. "We don't use phrases like 'her own age' in our house, not unless we want a lecture." Her smile receded. "She's an old soul in a teenager's body, Makoto. I guess we all are, when it comes down to it, but she's _aware_ of it on a level that I don't think any of us are. Not even Setsuna. And at the same time, she wants so badly to catch up to us. She hates being the baby of the team. Literally or figuratively."

"I can understand that. I was the youngest until Chibi-usa showed up." Makoto tried to picture Hotaru as she was now. Minako liked to tease that she and Rei could be sisters, but in her mind, Makoto still thought of her first as that tiny bundle swaddled in Usagi's arms. God, that day seemed like a hundred years ago.

"Sorry we took so long to get together, by the way," Haruka said suddenly. "I kept meaning to call you, but... this summer..."

Makoto took a deep breath as she returned to the present. "This summer." Enough said.

"It was Minako's suggestion, actually. She said we both needed to get out of the house and have some fun."

That was... probably true, but still, the implication miffed Makoto a little. "No surprise there. She's been even worse than usual this summer."

Haruka snorted in agreement before her face turned serious. "How is she doing, anyway?"

Makoto hemmed for a moment. "Well, she finally went home yesterday, and I haven't gotten a million messages complaining about her parents, so I assume she's surviving."

"That's good, I guess."

"Yeah."

"I hear Usagi and Rei actually came up for air long enough to hang out with you guys."

"For a little bit, yeah."

"How're they doing?"

Makoto smiled to herself. "Have you seen them at all?" When Haruka shook her head, she continued. "Oh, you know. Usagi is head over heels – no shock there. Seeing Rei in love, though, that's something. If anything, I think it's made her even more... feisty? Like she's getting ready to fight the whole world. It's kind of sweet, actually."

"Well, she'll probably have to," Haruka snorted. Makoto raised her eyebrow. "What? You know everyone seems to fall for Usagi. I mean, _I_ haven't personally been to the future, but it was my understanding that she'll be breaking hearts well past her thousandth birthday."

"True, she does seem to attract the affection of the sad and deranged," Makoto said, giving Haruka a sideways look.

Haruka placed a hand over her heart dramatically. "I'm sorry, was that aimed at _me_? Makoto, how you _wound_ me," she said airily. "Of course, I would have been more than happy to ease our longsuffering princess's lonely heart. But Rei, I am sad to say, has left me in the dust."

Makoto hadn't expected her to admit it so easily. "Would you really have...?"

"Wouldn't you have?" Haruka took another sip of from the sports bottle. "If Usagi had come to you, or kissed you, or _whatever_ it is that set them off, would you have turned her down?"

Color exploded in Makoto's cheeks, and she snatched the bottle out of the other girl's hands. "No comment."

The water did nothing for the heat in her face, but to her surprise Haruka let it drop without teasing her further. Unfortunately, she changed the subject to something much, much worse.

"So, uhh, this is kind of an awkward question, but I'm just gonna come out and ask: are you and Minako...?"

Caught by surprise mid-swallow, Makoto choked, and what was meant to be a swift denial became instead a wet, spluttering cough. Haruka patted her on the back as she fought to regain her composure. She wiped her mouth with the back of her hand, and found she couldn't quite meet Haruka's eyes.

"Of-of course not," she said finally. "Not... no."

Haruka squeezed her shoulder, trying to look apologetic while failing to conceal her glee at Makoto's reaction. "Sorry, I didn't mean to freak you out. I just figured, you know, I have barely heard from her since last weekend, and she was at your place for like four days in a row, sooooo..."

Unbidden, the memory came upon her: waking up yesterday morning wearing nothing but her nightshirt, her arm wrapped around Minako's bare midriff. She blushed again. "Her parents were fighting again." It was true technically, but it made her stomach twist in shame to use it as such a petty deflection.

The humor fled Haruka's eyes instantly. She licked her lips. "Well... shit. I didn't know things were that bad for her at home. Sorry. I guess I'm the fun distraction, and you get the heavy stuff." There was a note of hurt in her voice.

"It's not like that," Makoto said quickly. "I mean, I don't think she's told _anyone_. Except Artemis, maybe, but he lives there, so..." She trailed off. None of this was hers to talk about, but she couldn't help herself. "I think... I think she's embarrassed about it."

Haruka sighed and reclined back, resting her head against the stucco wall. "Ohhh, Minako... 'Physician, heal thyself'."

"Yeah," Makoto agreed, though she wasn't sure what that meant. "Haruka?"

"Hmm?"

"What's up with you guys? Are you... in love with Minako?"

Haruka turned her head towards her for a moment before turning back to stare at the courts. "I love her, sure. I don't know if I would say I'm _in_ love with her."

"What would Minako think if she heard that," Makoto wondered aloud.

The corner of Haruka's mouth crept up. "Your guess is as good as mine. She can tough to get a read on." A pause. "Are you in love with Ami?"

Makoto froze. Some small, canny part of her had been expecting it – Haruka was the master of the surprise return, after all – but it was still as if someone had seized her throat in their fist. "I am going to fucking _kill_ Minako," she spat through gritted teeth.

"Is that a yes?"

As quickly as it came, the anger and indignation left Makoto all at once. She had been fighting herself on this for days; her emotional muscles were just too tired. She sagged back against the wall. "I don't know. For so long I thought so, but... I don't know." Haruka said nothing, so she just kept going. "I think, at first, I just wanted to _be_ her, you know? She's everything I've always wished I could be. Smart. Quiet. Cute. Petite."

"Normal."

Makoto gave her a flat look. "If you're gonna be blunt... yeah. I would have given anything to be able to just sit in a classroom with all the other girls and just... disappear." Her hand rose to draw her ponytail over her shoulder. "Short, straight, dark hair. A size S uniform. Just another girl."

"I doubt Ami would agree with that assessment," Haruka said wryly.

"I know." Makoto shifted uncomfortably. "I mean, I know _now_. And I guess, over time, that admiration just... turned into something else. I thought maybe it was love for a long time, but..."

"But?"

Makoto opened her mouth and then closed it again. There was a question she had wanted to ask Haruka for years, but just thinking about it made her heart race anxiously. Her hands balled into fists in her lap, but she made them uncurl and rested them carefully on her legs. "How do I..." Her eyes flicked up to the girls on the other court and her voice dropped to a murmur. "How do I actually know... if I'm... gay?"

Haruka stared and her for a moment and then blew out her cheeks. "Oh! Geez, umm... wow. Okay... well, uh, being romantically or sexually interested in another girl is probably... a good start?" Makoto frowned, and she put her hands up apologetically. "Sorry! I'm not trying to be flippant, I promise. If you really aren't sure, maybe the dictionary's as good a place to start as any?"

"Do you think I am?"

"God, Mako... I don't know if I should be answering that. I mean, your queerness isn't something you can have decided _democratically_. Believe me, I would love nothing more than to be your gay Sherpa, but you really know yourself better than I do. Trust me."

Makoto frowned. "I thought you were supposed to be able to, you know... tell." She blushed as Haruka laughed out loud.

"Some people, maybe, but not me. Hell, I wasn't even sure about myself until I met Michiru."

Hearing Michiru's name made Makoto itch between her shoulder blades, and she had to fight the urge to squirm. "What was it like, though?" she pressed. "How did it feel? How did you know?"

Haruka leaned back and began to toss a tennis ball back and forth between her hands. "Hmmm. It was like... the first time I can remember actually _feeling_ physically attracted to someone. Not just looking at someone and recognizing that they're objectively attractive like, I don't know, some idol singer or something. Actually _being_ attracted to someone, and recognizing that I was feeling that way."

"Really? There hadn't been anyone else? I thought you two met when you were in third year."

"Guess I was a late bloomer," Haruka shrugged. "It wasn't just physical attraction, of course. There was an intense feeling of... kinship, I guess?"

"From you both being Sailor Senshi?"

"I assume that was part of it, although I didn't realize that for a long time. Our whole first meeting was this huge, confusing tangle of attraction and curiosity and relief."

"Relief?"

"Oh God, yeah. Middle school was a very... confusing time for me. Realizing I was attracted to other girls was so eye-opening, you know?" She rolled her shoulders as if she felt the same sort of itch that Makoto had. "I don't go around telling people this very often, but in my first year of middle school I sort of... had a boyfriend."

Makoto's jaw dropped. "Bullshit!"

"Oh, it's true," she sighed. "I mean, I say 'boyfriend', but... whatever 'having a boyfriend' means when you're twelve."

"But... how?"

Her incredulous tone seemed to make Haruka defensive. "Hey, some boys like tomboys, okay? It was just... most of my friends growing up were my dad's friends' kids, and they just all happened to be boys. One day, one of them asked me to be his girlfriend, and I said yes. It really didn't mean anything. It's not like twelve-year-olds can exactly... go on dates, not really. All we did was hang out and do the same things we always had as friends. We raced our bikes, we played baseball, we fooled around in my dad's garage..."

"You _what_?!"

Haruka's face turned bright red. "Fooled around with my dad's tools and stuff! Not..." She trailed off as Makoto began to giggle uncontrollably. "This is exactly why I don't tell people."

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," Makoto said, struggling to gather her composure. "This is just all... so amazing."

"Hmph."

"So, did you guys ever kiss?"

Haruka gave her a tight-lipped look. "...Yes. But, and I cannot stress enough, these were the tamest, most G-rated kisses imaginable." She shook her head. "And it seemed normal to me, back then. I didn't _feel_ anything when we kissed, it was just... what you did. What you were supposed to do. It all was. Girls went out with boys. Girls kissed boys. I felt very mature, at the time."

"It never felt... wrong?"

"Compared to what? It's not like someone sat me down and said, 'okay, kiss this boy and then this girl and see which you like better'. Our crappy primary school sex-ed conveniently forgot to mention that there were other options. And, if I'm being honest, unless it was related to cars, baseball or samurai, I probably wouldn't have paid attention anyway."

Makoto raised an eyebrow. Samurai?

"And, most importantly, I didn't have any cool, openly-gay sempai to blaze a trail for me," Haruka said with a proud grin. "I just had to muddle along as best I could."

Makoto thought about that for a moment. Truth be told, until she had met Haruka and Michiru, she'd never given any real thought to the idea of two girls being... together. Sure, she'd been aware of the concept in the most abstract sense, but...

"You really were, you know," she said. "Meeting you was... a real turning point for me in a lot of ways."

"What, really?"

"Absolutely. Do you remember when we first met?" Makoto asked.

A shadow passed over Haruka's expression. "I just about ran over you and Usagi on my bike."

"We spent that whole next day together, you and me and Michiru. I guess I should have felt like a third wheel, but I was just... so happy to be around you."

Haruka's cheeks colored slightly. "We only invited you to hang out with us because we knew that Daimon was targeting you," she said bitterly.

Makoto reached over and put her hand over Haruka's. "You gave me your handkerchief when I was hurt, remember? There were no Daimon after my heart then."

"Well, yeah, but..."

"I know. Things were different then. Being a Senshi didn't come with a manual, either. We all muddled along as best we could, right?"

"So we did," Haruka said with a grateful smile. "Sorry, I don't mean to be a downer. I just don't like thinking of those days."

"It's okay. We all have scars." She gave Haruka's hand a squeeze and then moved her hand back to her lap. "Anyways, where was I?"

"I believe I was being awesome and inspiring?"

Makoto smiled. "You were! So much so, in fact, that everyone was convinced I was in love with you. I got lectured by everyone about how I shouldn't let myself fall for a girl."

"Seriously? That was really shitty of them."

"Yup. Usagi and Minako were the worst about it, too."

Haruka snorted. "Those two, really? Uhh, paging Dr. Freud."

"Right?" Makoto exclaimed. " _Thank_ you!"

"I hope at some point you give all four of them some major shit about it."

"I should. A little. But, look at us all now. It just goes to show that no one really knows what the hell they're doing."

"Amen."

"And, anyway, it wasn't like I even was in love with you." She stuck her tongue out at Haruka's mock pout. "It was just... I worked so hard back then to make myself into this image of the perfect girl I could never be. And there you were, in your boy's uniform, with your short hair, just so... completely different from that perfect girl in my head. And you _owned_ it. You were just like, 'this is me, take it or leave it'. And everyone just seemed to... accept it. It made me want to stand up to that voice in my head that was always telling me I wasn't feminine enough."

"Well... good." Haruka hesitated for a moment before lifting her arm and slipping it around Makoto's shoulders. "Fuck that voice."

"Agreed."

"Not everyone accepted it, you know," she said quietly. "I got a lot of static from my school when I started wearing a boy's uniform. I got called a lot of things. And worse. I still do, sometimes. It gets better, but... it'll always be a fight."

Makoto didn't have to imagine what that was like. "It sucks."

"Sure does. But, then I think to myself, I've helped save the world like four times, what are they doing with their sad, little lives?"

"Some fricking gratitude would be nice..."

"Heh. Yeah..."

"So, what ever happened to this boyfriend of yours?" Makoto asked after a few minutes of pensive silence.

"Oh, he dumped me a few months later for a girl in our class with boobs."

Makoto barked a sharp laugh. "Pfff. Typical."

Haruka shrugged. "I was more annoyed than heartbroken. After that, I kinda just figured that love was another thing that adults had overhyped. I never really dated again until I met Michiru. If you can call that dating."

"That's kinda sad. I guess it all worked out, though."

"Yeah. Hell, even if I _had_ realized I was gay and managed to find a girlfriend, I would've had to bail on her once I became Sailor Uranus. 'Sorry honey, I'm moving to Tokyo with this girl I just met a few weeks ago'. Just what a young girl in love wants to hear."

"Haha, nooo kidding."

Haruka shifted uncomfortably. "Do you wanna get outta here? My butt's falling asleep."

"Yeah, sure." Makoto stood up and stifled a groan. Sitting down for so long without a proper cooldown? Rookie mistake. Her thighs were definitely lodging their protests. She grabbed her bag and racquet as Haruka stretched beside her. "Hey, um, did you wanna, maybe... get something to eat? Or something?" she asked, hoping she didn't sound as nervous as she suddenly felt.

"Sounds good to me," Haruka said as she grabbed her own gear. "Lemme just message Hotaru and let her know she's on her own tonight."

"Oh! Umm, sorry, if you guys have plans or something that's fine, I just thought... you don't have to. I just thought... but it's okay-" Makoto babbled until Haruka nudged her in the ribs.

"It's fine, Hotaru's a big girl, she doesn't need a babysitter. Hell, she's the only one in the house that can cook anyway."

"Sorry."

"Don't have to apologize, just, you know, take a breath." She gave Makoto cocky grin. "Geez, you'd think you'd never asked a girl out before."

"Oh, shut up," Makoto said. She gave Haruka a half-hearted punch on the shoulder and turned quickly to stride towards the showers, her face burning.

* * *

Dinner was... nice. Haruka brought her to a tiny hole-in-the-wall Korean BBQ place only a few minutes away. It was clearly a favorite of hers; she barely glanced at the menu after sitting down. There wasn't much of a crowd – it was more late afternoon than early evening, after all – and that was just fine by Makoto. She was used to feeling eyes on her everywhere she went, but being with Haruka made it worse somehow. Sure, this wasn't _really_ a date, but what else were people going to think?

At least some of her anxiety was hunger-related, apparently, because it began to evaporate once their food finally arrived. She had ordered kalbi, which was not really a meal for the self-conscious, but that didn't stop her from picking the ribs up with her bare hands and digging in. She had already finished two when the waiter brought out Haruka's bibimbap, sizzling in its stone pot.

Both of them were starving, and conversation was spare as they ate. After spending years eating alone in front of the TV, or sitting on her tiny balcony, Makoto was not much of a meal-time conversationalist. What chatter did pass between them was light stuff, easy stuff, for which Makoto was grateful. After everything they'd talked about earlier, it was nice to just relax and enjoy Haruka's company.

After all, it wasn't a date, right? Minako had happily dished about every aspect of her dates with Haruka, and that girl wasn't stingy with details. Hell, she had pictures, breathtaking pictures of Haruka dressed to the nines, wearing gowns or suits but never looking like less than herself. Fancy food in fancy restaurants, dancing until midnight – that was the Haruka date experience. And then more afterwards, of course, things Minako would describe in giddy, breathless detail and that Makoto would try to replay in her mind's eye when she was alone in bed later.

Makoto took a deep breath and a long drink of her cold boricha tea. "Spicy," she lied, and Haruka just gave her a sympathetic look, as if she hadn't just dumped an obscene amount of red chili paste into her bowl herself.

Haruka covered the bill despite her objections, but the evening was only just beginning, and when Haruka asked if she wanted to go for a drive or something, she decided that yes, yes she did. She had no idea where they drove – Makoto knew Tokyo through bus routes and subway stations, not roads – but eventually they found themselves on an expressway heading south. There was no conversation to be had with the top down, of course, so Makoto just watched Haruka drive. She looked so relaxed, slouched back in her seat with one hand on the gearshift and two fingers of the other hand hooked over the bottom of the steering wheel. The wind ran loving fingers through her blonde hair and made the upturned collar of her blouse flutter madly, and filled with a sudden impulse Makoto let down her own hair and leaned back, letting it stream behind her. When she glanced over, Haruka was smiling, though her eyes never seemed to leave the road.

It was nearly sundown when that seemingly endless road finally led, somehow, back to her apartment. Makoto didn't even notice at first. She was caught up in the memory of that first drive she took with Haruka and Michiru, only in her head it was just the two of them this time. She blinked when she realized where they were, and couldn't help feeling a little disappointed. She drew her hair back down over her shoulder, meaning to tie it back, but instead she just twirled it in her fingers. Haruka stretched her arms over her head and then turned in her seat to look at Makoto. The burnt orange light of the setting sun threw her features into sharp relief.

"Well, here we are," she said.

"Thanks for the ride," Makoto replied. "And dinner. And hanging out and stuff."

"My pleasure," she grinned. "So, how would you rate this date?"

Makoto crossed her arms and assumed a thoughtful pose. "Hmm, well, the food was good, but there was no dancing. Six out of ten."

"What is with you guys and dancing?" Haruka hopped over her door and quickly trotted around the car to open Makoto's. "Also, in my defense, _you_ asked _me_ out, not the other way around. Any dancing or lack thereof is entirely on you." She held out her hand.

Makoto took her proffered hand with a wry smile. "Minako said she asked you out, though. She still got dancing," she countered.

"Technically, she asked me to ask her out."

"That does sound like her."

Makoto grabbed her bag from the back seat and the two of them walked up the stairs to her apartment in comfortable silence. When they arrived at her door, Haruka turned to her. "Voila," she announced, making a slight bow.

"Wow, walked to my door, how swanky. Someone's fishing for a seven!" Makoto laughed.

"And?"

"Close, but not quite."

Haruka shrugged and grinned. "I can only hope that one day I can meet your exacting standards. Until then, if you're ever in the market for a slightly above-average dating experience, I'm your girl."

Okay, here we go. Makoto took a deep breath. "Aren't you forgetting something?"

"Am I...?" Haruka patted her shorts pockets. God, Minako was right, she really couldn't take a hint. With a sigh, Makoto dropped her workout bag and took Haruka's face in both hands. She leaned forward, raising up slightly on her toes, and kissed her.

It was just a peck, really – especially if you compared it to what she and Minako had just gotten up to – but her face was still hot when she pulled away. "It's, uhh, not really a date if you don't kiss the girl goodnight, right?" she said, a trifle breathlessly.

She could just make out the hint of a blush on Haruka's cheeks in the coppery light. "Does that bump us up to a seven, then?" Her mouth was cocked in that half-smile of hers, but there was an intensity in her eyes that made Makoto's stomach flip-flop.

"I think we're getting there."

* * *

Haruka's hand was cool as it brushed down Makoto's side, a soothing contrast to the heat of her mouth on Makoto's neck. Her lips travelled south as well, kissing gently down to her shoulder just as her hand reached Makoto's hip. Gently, Haruka pulled Makoto forward until their bodies, side-by-side on her bed, were touching. And again, Makoto felt a lurching in her stomach, and her frame went rigid at the moment of contact. Haruka's lips pulled away from her skin as she drew away.

She settled back, resting her head on one bent arm, and immediately Makoto felt some of the tension leave her body. "You okay?" she asked. Her voice was tentative, her face full of concern.

Makoto opened her mouth to say yes, of course she was, but she couldn't do it. She rolled over onto her back so she didn't have to look Haruka in the eyes. Frustration and embarrassment coiled heavily around her chest. "I don't know. I'm sorry. I... thought this is what I wanted, but..." But what? After the heady excitement of making the first move, she had all but dragged Haruka into her bedroom. But now, with a girl she had fantasized about on and off for years half-naked next to her on her own bed, nothing was happening. She had pushed on, trying to tell herself it was just nerves, but she couldn't fool her own body.

"You don't have to apologize." The bed creaked as Haruka turned onto her back as well. "If you aren't feeling it, you aren't feeling it."

"I _want_ to feel it, though! I don't know why... Fuck, I'm such a mess."

"Mako..."

"I just... I thought it made sense, you know? You're gorgeous, and we get along so well, and I always feel like I know where I stand with you, Haruka. I thought it would be easy, and then... then I would know for sure."

Haruka let out a sigh and sidled over so she was a little closer. "I know I'm kinda contradicting myself here, but going to bed with a girl doesn't make you gay." Makoto glanced over at her. Haruka's arms were crossed behind her head, and her ribs were visible below her pale, teacup breasts. "Kissing a girl doesn't make you gay. Having dinner with a girl doesn't make you gay."

"I guess."

Haruka smiled. "Don't get me wrong, it sure doesn't hurt. And there's nothing _wrong_ with trying it to see if you like it. Just... don't fall into the trap of thinking that you have to figure everything out right away. Kiss who you want to kiss. Love who you want to love. As long as you're honest with yourself, other people's labels don't really matter. Mine included."

Makoto turned back onto her side. "Thanks," she said quietly. "Sorry for tangling you up in all my bullshit, though. I didn't intend to... frustrate you."

Haruka laughed. "Like I said, don't sweat it. One of the many secrets no one tells you about sex is that sometimes you just aren't into it, no matter what you think you want. You can't force it, and you can't fake it."

"Well, that's dumb."

"It really is."

"Why does it have to be so complicated?"

Haruka shrugged. "Brains are weird. Sex is mostly in your head, you know?"

"Yeah, Minako said the same thing."

"Did she now?" Haruka drawled. She rolled over onto her side and propped her head on one hand. There was a mischievous look in her eyes.

"She told you, didn't she?" Makoto asked flatly. Haruka just raised one eyebrow suggestively. "Okay, fine," Makoto growled. "I lied before. Minako and me sort of fooled around a bit a few nights ago. Things got kind of intense, and then she went home the next morning. It was just weird, one-time thing."

Haruka cocked her head. "Do you like her?"

"No!" Makoto said instantly. "I mean... I don't know. What happened between us was just... hormones and loneliness and bad timing. That's what I keep telling myself, anyway. I guess I don't really know. I just wish I knew what Minako wanted."

Haruka gave her a sympathetic smile. "I'm pretty she just wants all of us to live in a big house and sleep together on a single giant bed. Beyond that, though... our Goddess of Love definitely plays her cards close to her chest."

"Well, I hope she doesn't expect me to cook for nine people by myself. I'm getting that out there right now," Makoto sniffed. "She... really didn't tell you, then?"

"Nope, just a hunch. You're her type."

"What?! What type is that?"

"I think she has a thing for cool, tall, strong-willed women."

"Yeah?" Makoto snorted. "Someone should warn Setsuna then."

"I, uh, think Setsuna can take care of herself," Haruka said faintly. Color began to creep across her cheeks. "Feel any better?"

"I guess." Makoto rolled onto her back. In response, Haruka pulled herself forward until she was flush against Makoto's side. She took Makoto's hand in hers, and Makoto felt a flash of heat as she realized this was the same position she and Minako had been in two nights ago. She turned and rested her head on Haruka's shoulder. "Would you stay over tonight?" she asked quietly. "Even if we don't...?"

"Of course," Haruka said immediately. Makoto wriggled her arm around her bare waist and pulled her into a crushing embrace by way of thanks, burying her face into the nape of her neck. Haruka made a strangled sound that turned into a chuckle when Makoto relaxed her arms.

For a while she just laid there watching Haruka's chest rise and fall as Haruka toyed absently with her hair. It was the first time in weeks that she had been able to lay in bed without running in circles in her head. She'd almost forgotten what it was like.

She looked up when Haruka finally stirred. "Are you actually tired at all?" Haruka asked.

"Not really," Makoto admitted.

"You wanna snuggle on the couch and watch TV for a while?"

"That sounds absolutely amazing."

And it was.

* * *

Author's Notes

Hello, all you wonderful and patient people!

This chapter was a real journey, let me tell ya. I probably spent more time just wrestling this chapter onto the page than any other by a substantial margin. I really wanted Haruka x Makoto to happen at the end, but after two total rewrites, it just wasn't happening. And you know what? I think that's okay. Passion and intensity are great, but sometimes just having a quiet moment with someone who really gets you is so much more important than simply getting off.

Coming up next, finally, is Minako. Summer draws to a close, and Project: Venus with it. Hope to see you all there.

Peace,

BF


End file.
